Bentleyville attendance neared 25,000 over the weekend

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After slumping through last week, attendance at the Bentleyville Tour of Lights on Duluth’s bayfront shot up over the weekend, with just over 24,000 visitors hitting Bayfront Festival Park from Friday through Sunday.

Visitors also have donated 4,889 pounds of food and 732 toys, said Major Alan Fones of the Salvation Army, which is coordinating the donations.

The number of people who have visited Bentleyville now stands at about 67,000 since it opened Nov. 27, said organizer and founder Nathan Bentley.

That total nearly matches the number of people who visited Bentleyville at Bentley’s rural Cloquet home in 2007, when

70,000 toured the display.

Fones said the Salvation Army is desperate for toy donations, noting that demand is up while toys given are below this point last year.

He said toys can continue to be donated at Bentleyville, to the Salvation Army at 215 S. 27th Ave. West, or at one of the 60 Toyland Express donation boxes at businesses around Duluth.

Tags: salvation army, news, bentleyville, bayfront, toys, charity, money