"We know that Enchanted Airlie is a beloved holiday tradition and one of the hottest tickets in town, but we aren't just pretty lights!" That line comes from Airlie Gardens' own event page. Most people scroll past it on their way to the Etix button. The next sentence says the lights have helped fund the garden's stormwater master plan and the work to carry it out.

So a $35 carload ticket buys a half-mile walk under the lights. It also helps pay to clean the water that drains into the garden's lake from Airlie Road. The county's newest results, released in October 2026, show that job is not finished. The holiday walk that opens November 27 is Airlie's largest fundraiser of the year, and that money goes toward the work.

The garden sits at the bottom of the hill

Airlie calls itself "the last point of filtration for the Bradley Creek watershed." When the property was first bought, a main reason was to improve water quality in Bradley Creek, and Airlie says that is still a priority.

The numbers show what that role involves. The National Association of Counties, in its write-up of Airlie's stormwater project, describes a 67-acre garden at the low end of a 124-acre watershed. That watershed sends more than four million gallons of stormwater through the garden on the way to Bradley Creek. Airlie's 2026 event page says development over the past 10 years has "greatly impacted" the gardens, and it calls 2026 "an important year" to focus again on how to handle the millions of gallons that come in.

The water comes in at a specific spot. The StarNews reported in December 2025 on an outfall beside the black ornate fence along Airlie Road. It carries runoff from the road and nearby areas into the gardens. From there the water winds through manmade wetlands along a channel that twists on purpose, so sediment and pollutants have time to settle before the water reaches Airlie Lake. The lake sits right against the fence and Airlie Road, so there's little space to slow the water down once it's inside.

What the money has already built

Airlie has been working on this for close to a decade. Here's how it unfolded:

1. 2017. The state's Clean Water Management Trust Fund program, now the NC Land and Water Fund, awarded Airlie Gardens $250,000 for an "Innovative Stormwater Project," according to the fund's award list.
2. 2018. Airlie's director told Port City Daily that the Airlie Foundation had paid for the stormwater master plan and that a Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant would start the work.
3. 2020. New Hanover County announced that Airlie had finished the final phase of the innovative stormwater project.
4. Since then. Airlie has dredged parts of the lake to remove organic material, added aerators to keep water moving, and released sterile grass carp to eat some of the lake's plants. The StarNews noted the carp approach is similar to one Wilmington has tried at Greenfield Lake.

The constructed wetlands were paid for with state grants and support from the Airlie Foundation. Garden staff also include them on school-group tours to show how wetlands help both water quality and wildlife. Enchanted Airlie proceeds have gone toward the master plan and its ongoing implementation.

What the county measured this year

New Hanover County began testing Airlie Lake every month in 2015 because of algal blooms. It samples three spots: where runoff enters the lake, the middle of the lake, and the outfall where the lake empties into Bradley Creek near the Intracoastal Waterway.

The 2025–2026 final report is dated October 2026 and covers July 2025 through June 2026. Marine scientist Brad Rosov of Coastal Protection Engineering of North Carolina prepared it. Here is what it found, compared with earlier years:

Both orthophosphate and nitrite/nitrate can feed algae. The report explains that heavy algae growth can cause blooms, which lower dissolved oxygen and drag down overall water quality.

In the December 2025 StarNews story, Rosov put it plainly: "It's really coming from the upstream side of things." He said the goal is to reduce how much water flows into the lake and improve its quality before it arrives. Asked about the dredging, aerators and carp, he told the paper, "Our data hasn't really shown it's helped so far."

The same story describes the next steps under discussion. When commissioners asked about causes, Rosov said it was far too early to point to any one of them. He said more testing outside the garden gates, including in nearby stormwater ditches, could add information. He also said talking with nearby neighborhoods about the best ways to use fertilizers and other lawn products could help lower the nutrients reaching Airlie. Airlie, for its part, has chosen to focus on what it can do on its own grounds. Powell told the StarNews the garden plans more initiatives to clean runoff before it reaches the lake. "We're all interconnected," Powell said, explaining that water from Airlie Lake flows into Bradley Creek.

That's the backdrop for this year's lights. The fundraiser is in its 22nd season, and its proceeds go to a problem the county's own data says is still active.

Getting in this season

Enchanted Airlie has run since 2005. It's a self-guided walk through holiday lights and music. The 2026 dates are November 27 and 28, then December 1 through 21. Opening night is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Public tickets went on sale October 28, and WWAY covered the release that morning.

How the tickets work, from Airlie's FAQ:

• One ticket per vehicle. A carload is $35 for a car, standard truck, SUV or minivan that fits a standard parking space. An XL van ticket is $65. Group vehicles carrying 12 or more people are $85 for nonprofits and $125 for for-profit groups, and they need a special reservation. Tax and fees are added to all prices.
• No walk-ins or bicycles. Every ticket includes onsite parking, and everyone in the group has to arrive in the same vehicle, even if you live close enough to walk.
• Two tickets per transaction, and no waitlist. Refunded or returned tickets go back on Etix as available, so it's worth checking back on a sold-out night.
• Skip the online fees by buying in person at the Airlie Gardens Gift Shop. Tax still applies.
• Rain or shine. If you don't come at your ticketed time, the ticket is forfeited. Refund and exchange requests go through Etix's form, and approval depends on availability.
• No Santa. Airlie's FAQ says Santa Claus is no longer part of the event.

Each evening has four time slots, and Airlie enforces both ends of each one to keep parking open for the next group:

Guests who stay past their ticket's end time may be charged an extra ticketing fee. The half-mile route works for wheelchairs, walkers and strollers. Wheelchairs can be checked out free with an ID, first come, first served. Airlie does not run visitor trams during the event.

Seeing the wetlands by daylight

Daytime hours change during the event. On November 27 and 28 and December 1 through 21, the garden closes at 4 p.m. and last entry is 3:30 p.m., instead of the usual 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last admission at 4:30. Daytime admission is $10 general, $5 for New Hanover County residents and military, $3 for ages 4 to 12, and free for members. A daytime ticket does not get you into special events.

A daytime visit is the easiest way to see the part of the garden that the lights help pay for. The constructed wetlands start at the Airlie Road fence and wind toward the lake, and staff already use them as a teaching stop on school tours. Through December 31, the garden-wide frog sculpture exhibit is also on display: ten frogs decorated by artists, placed around the grounds since July, according to the county's announcement.

At Tory Kuehner Group, we keep track of what's changing along Airlie Road and around Landfall, from the gardens to the roads that lead to them. If you live nearby and want to know what your home is worth heading into the new year, Get Your Instant Home Valuation and we'll follow up with what's happening on your stretch of the corridor.