Bentleyville re-ups at Bayfront in Duluth for 3 years

Duluth Mayor Don Ness announced today that Bentleyville Tour of Lights will remain at Bayfront Festival Park for three more years.

Ness said he and founder Nathan Bentley worked out an agreement Tuesday to keep the annual holiday event at Bayfront through 2015.

“What a great announcement to make as we head into Christmas and the New Year,” Ness wrote on Facebook. “It’s a great early Christmas present for us all. Especially all of those kids who love Bentleyville — forget the annoyances — it’s really about those kids.”

Problems of vandalism and unwanted preaching at the public holiday light display had threatened whether Nathan Bentley would continue it beyond this year.

But Ness said problems are being addressed. And Bentley said an influx of e-mails from the community asking him to keep Bentleyville going in Duluth convinced him to stay.

Tags: city of duluth, news, bayfront, family, community