A Wilmington area event that attracts visitors from around the nation – and the globe – has been selected as a Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Top 20 Event for 2015.

It’s not the first time that Enchanted Airlie has garnered the esteemed travel distinction. What’s more, additional attendance nights were added this holiday season to accommodate demand.

“We’ve grown from a few hundred people a night to seeing over 40,000 people during Enchanted Airlie,” said Airlie Gardens development director Janine Powell. “Folks come from across the nation and world to see the lights.”

Organizers said this year, they expect to see close to 50,000 attendees over the course of the popular event. The holiday light extravaganza features an array of twinkling displays across much of the 67-acre coastal garden.

While more light peepers are expected to take in the bright sights, there’s also an increase in the number of lights for this year. In 2014, an estimated 750,000 bulbs lit up the landscape.

“[In 2015], we are approaching 1 million lights, all LED,” Powell said. She added that when the event began in 2005, it consisted of a mere 50,000 lights, by comparison.

As for Enchanted Airlie’s planning, Powell said that starts immediately after the event ends. Staff and volunteers begin disassembling the vast amount of lights, displays and the like in January, with preparations for the coming event beginning that same month.

“February and March are spent conceptualizing new ideas and sourcing materials,” Powell explained. “We take a short break in April to handle the massive number of people coming through the gardens for the spring bloom. In May, we start checking light strands; this takes several months.”

Since its inception, Enchanted Airlie starts the Friday after Thanksgiving and consists of two showings a day on select dates, which tend to sell out. This year, the event wraps up on Dec. 22. As of Dec. 7, the 5 p.m. Dec. 19 showing was sold out, according to Airlie Gardens’ etix.com web page.

Additionally, 2015 marked the second time that Enchanted Airlie made the STS Top 20 Events list. Two other year-end local events also made the list again – the 21st annual Cucalorus Film Festival, held in mid-November, and Old Wilmington by Candlelight Tour, held earlier this month.

To garner the STS Top 20 distinction, events from across the Southeast United States compete for the honor. Through a nomination process, STS chooses the Top 20 for each month and publishes this list of winners quarterly.

Tickets for Enchanted Airlie run from $12 for single admission to $27 for a carload and must be purchased in advance.