BENTLEYVILLE "TOUR OF LIGHTS"

Each winter, the Bentleyville "Tour of Lights" transforms Bayfront Festival Park into an illuminated winter wonderland with Christmas music and more than 5 million lights. According to organizers, it's the largest walk-through lighting display of its kind in the country.

Bentleyville's 128-foot Christmas tree is actually more than twice the height of the one in Rockefeller Center, and covered with 100,000 LED lights that dance to holiday music. Using more than 5.5 miles of rope light, festive displays include Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, and such Minnesota icons as Split Rock Lighthouse, Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

As you stroll through the sprawling display, visitors can sip on complimentary coffee and hot cocoa and munch on popcorn and holiday cookies, or roast marshmallows over a campfire. Children can visit Santa and Mrs. Claus every night. Each child 10 and under will receive a new knit winter hat during their visit, and several costumed characters will be roaming the event for photos.

This year's event — Bentleyville's 21st birthday — runs from Saturday, Nov. 23 through Saturday, Dec. 28. The show is free, but monetary donations are appreciated. Guests are also encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy or non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army. 

CHRISTMAS CITY OF THE NORTH

Duluth officially kicks off the season with the Christmas City of the North nighttime parade through downtown the Friday before Thanksgiving. The parade is followed by the warm glow of decked-out Victorian mansions, and the bustle of holiday events ranging from comedy reviews and ballet to fairs featuring locally made gifts.

This year's Christmas City of the North Parade is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 22. This longstanding holiday tradition has occurred annually for the past six decades, featuring marching bands, visiting royalty, 70 organizations and businesses and two dozen dance groups who join Santa on his march through downtown Duluth. 

CHRISTMAS CITY EXPRESS

A vintage train wrapped in holiday lights rumbles and chugs into view in front of Fitger’s from late November through December. Its lights brighten an inky night along Lake Superior as families eagerly climb up the steps and a conductor hollers, “All Aboard!”

The seasonal ride on the North Shore Scenic Railroad’s Christmas City Express travels to Duluth’s 1892 Depot, which houses the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Kids gather for a reading of the book, “The Christmas City Express,” watch Lionel model train sets whir around their tracks, explore full-sized trains and hear a full-sized steam engine chug to life, as it spews smoke and blows its whistle. 

CHRISTMAS AT GLENSHEEN

Glensheen Mansion opens for self-guided candlelit tours through the former Congdon home, which is decorated with 25 Christmas trees and other glittering decor that add to its rich and historic surroundings. The Glensheen estate was completed in 1908. The Congdon family's rich history and wealth date back to the influential iron mining industry in the north. 

Many of Duluth’s grandest mansions were built during lumber boom years when the city claimed more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the United States. Visitors can savor the craftsmanship and architectural details of that period, along with seasonal decorations and hospitality, at one of five other historic mansions converted into bed-and-breakfasts.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING 

Besides serving as a pickup spot for Bentleyville and Christmas City Express, the Fitger’s shopping complex in a former brewery brings in Santa and live reindeer on weekends in November and December. Families can get photos with Santa, check out the unique shops or enjoy a meal or overnight stays with views of Lake Superior.

The popular Duluth Winter Village outdoor shopping event is held at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Other popular spots for unique and regionally made products include Canal Park and downtown Duluth along Superior Street.

Find more things to do in Duluth and check out 10 Ways to Celebrate the Holidays in Minnesota.