One of the most common ingredients of a festive holiday season is Christmas lights. While you may have plenty of these to admire in your neighborhood, and even in front of your own home, sometimes you need to venture a little farther afield to experience the most magical displays. Some people fly all the way to London for festive lights, as this popular European city is a delight to visit just before Christmas, according to Rick Steves. Fortunately, you don’t need to travel across oceans, because you can see one of America’s biggest holiday light displays in the Lake Superior city of Duluth, Minnesota.
The Bentleyville Tour of Lights is the country’s largest collection of Christmas lights that you can wander through without paying a single cent. The event has been running for more than 20 years, and it’s still surprising just how much is included for free. You, of course, have the lights, which fan out around Bayfront Festival Park overlooking Duluth Harbor. These dazzling lights create tunnels along the pathways, form a giant Christmas tree and festive signs, and adorn almost every tree within the park, transforming the green space into a Yuletide wonderland.
Not only is it free to enter, but you’re also given hot cocoa, coffee, cookies, and popcorn to enjoy while you wander around. When you reach the pavilion, you can grab complimentary marshmallows from a hut to roast over the firepits. Bentleyville is open for over a month, from the end of November until the end of December (weather permitting), and certain evenings feature special entertainment, from live bands to free hot dogs and the closing night’s fireworks show. Kids also have a chance to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus every night before Christmas, as well as dance and pose with characters like Rudolph.
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Christmas and community at Bentleyville
A display at Bentleyville with elves, Christmas quotes, and decorations in a giant TV – @walkingminnesota / YouTube
Bentleyville is just as focused on community as it is on the winter holidays. Toy and food donations are accepted during the event for visitors to give to those in need throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Organizers also give away tens of thousands of knitted hats to kids and reportedly spend over $600,000 on all the freebies each year. This money often comes from charitable donations and sponsorships from local businesses.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, roughly 350,000 people attend the event, many of whom come from out of town. These visitors pump millions of dollars back into the local economy, supporting restaurants, hotels, shops, and more during a costly time of year. It’s yet another reason why many see Bentleyville as a staple of the Minnesota holiday season and why Duluth is known by some as the “Christmas City of the North.” While the lights are spectacular to see on the ground, they’re even more amazing from high above. For between $120 and $240, you can book a scenic helicopter ride over the Bentleyville Tour of Lights, which also includes stunning views of the city, harbor, and Lake Superior, the cleanest lake in America.
As it’s an outdoor event, Bentleyville sometimes has to close when storms occur in Duluth. Just keep an eye on the weather when booking to make sure you aren’t at risk of missing out. Although it’s free to enter, you have to pay $10 ($12 with card) for parking, as of this writing. Shuttle buses and trains don’t always run each year, but you can catch local buses to nearby stops and walk. And remember to wear warm clothes. If Duluth is too cold for you, check out Amelia Island, a sunny December escape that becomes a Christmas wonderland, instead.
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Read the original article on Islands.