The Bentleyville-Cloquet pipeline of lights

Cloquet is beginning to look a lot like Christmas these days, with another season of holiday lights officially turned on the night before Thanksgiving.

City engineer Caleb Peterson said the displays throughout the city have grown, with new lighting and banners for the reconstructed Cloquet Avenue along with more donations from the king of holiday lighting, Nathan Bentley.

Trees that once had strings of lights will be hung with lighted snowflakes. It was a fix for winds whipping the strings around, Peterson said. Another adjustment was made in moving the walk-by display to Veterans Park. Power cords had proved a hazard at the Dunlap Island parks and the skating path there. Dunlap will also get a dose of the snowflakes. The skating path should be ready by next weekend's Home for the Holidays events as crews will spray water all next week.

The drive-by light display at Spafford Park along the St. Louis River will continue.

Parks supervisor Les Peterson said the donations from Bentleyville help with the small budget. The city has pockets of Bentley displays all over, he said.

And Bentley is happy to donate items he no longer needs for his one-of-kind display in Bayfront Park in Duluth. This is the 10th year of Bentleyville there. As he transitions to all-LED lighting, more and more displays get donated.

"Some of them are brand new," Bentley said this week after Bentleyville's opening weekend.

He likes supporting displays in Cloquet and benefits in not having to store them or trash perfectly good items, he said. "It's good they can take them."

Bentley began with light displays at his Esko home off Highway 61 in the early 2000s. When the family moved to the north side of Cloquet, they kept decorating. It became known as Bentleyville in 2003 and, after reaching more than 70,000 visitors in 2007, he took a year off to evaluate continuing the now hugely popular display. The city of Duluth came calling and, in 2009, Bentleyville was home in Bayfront Park.

Today, Bentleyville is a $500,000 endeavor each season, a far cry from those days in rural Carlton County. He gets volunteer help from hundreds of people and donations keep things going.

Even after 15 years, Bentley still has difficulty understanding the enthusiasm for his displays.

"I don't think it's a big deal," he said. He is always amazed at how thankful people are for his efforts. "It's fun to do. I enjoy doing it."

The impact is likely lost on him, he admitted, because it is now part of his life year-round. "I live it every day," he said.

Lighting contests

•The city and Bentley aren’t the only ones lighting things up this holiday season. In an effort to recognize home displays throughout the region, there will be another Christmas Lighting Challenge to rev up the spirit of the season. The Challenge is regional and local, featuring homes and businesses in Cloquet, Duluth, Superior, Two Harbors, Hermantown and Proctor.

Voting for the most impressive displays will be broken down by city and “allow everyone the chance to vote in two categories for each city,” organizers report. The categories are “Best in Home” and “Best in Business.” There will also be votes cast for “ “Favorite City.”

Registration to be included ends on Dec. 5. The final day to vote is Dec. 19. Winners will be announced Dec. 21.

For more information, visit http://www.asweeteventus.com/lightingchallenge.html

•The city of Wrenshall is putting on its second annual “Deck the WrensHalls Lighting Contest.” Open to all city residents and those who live within a one-mile radius of city limits. Entry fee is $5 and due by noon Dec. 12. Judging begins the evening of Dec. 12. Call City Hall at 218-384-3680 for more information.

Entries should be dropped off at City Hall.