In the News

The Mania is Spreading

Community Connection: Troy Abfalter talks about Dunedinville. The North 103.3 FM (December 15, 2022)

Three years ago, in the wake of personal loss and an unrelenting pandemic, Troy Abfalter of Duluth started to envision something better. “I really missed feeling hope and joy," says Abfalter. ”I needed something to tend that light within, so I started building."

The result is Dunedinville, a sprawling light display across Abfalter’s city property that spills into neighbors' yards – neighbors who’ve been very willing to latch onto the project. The main event of the display is a community gathering on the Sunday night prior to the winter solstice. Families can visit and take in various visual spectacles and interactive structures. “We have things like light tunnels, and photo booths, and firepits, hot coco, music, treehouses, gnomes, snow hills, snow forts, and a sled track.”

Abfalter has plans to keep the display going and to make things "crazier and crazier.” But there’s a bigger objective in mind for the future. “What's our vision for Christmas City of the North 2025? Where are we going from here?" Abfalter has a proposal. "One Bentleyville; 100 neighborhood outdoor holiday gatherings... folks out there, I know you probably already have a light display - I've seen it... send out invites to your neighbors, have a party, get together."

So, the call is out there. Duluth is the Christmas City of the North and Abfalter wants to be a part of making it bigger. And he’s pretty sure you do too.

First day of winter and it finally looks like it. WDIO-TV (December 21, 2020)

Thanks to new snow on the first day of winter, it's going to be a white Christmas in the Northland.

Troy Abfalter loves walking through Bentleyville, especially the light tunnels. So he created his own, at Dunedinville 2020. "I think a lot of folks, including me, were looking for something exciting. Something bright, something light. And that's how Dunedinville came about."

He and his girls created a walk through display, which they celebrated on the eve of the winter solstice. "I love winter. We got married in the winter, our first child was born in the winter," he said.

It's named after the street the live on, Dunedin Avenue in Duluth.

Neiva, who will turn 7 in January, loves the snow. She was even named for it. Neiva means "radiant snow."

(Unfortunately the actual tv video link is now inactive. There was fantastic footage of the Wild children.)

Goal: Minnesota Public Radio


Dear MPR, Read the press release I sent you. Happy Holidays, Troy