2022 continues to be a strong year for Wilmington International Airport.   August was the best August on record at ILM with 106,167 total passengers, a 5% increase from the previous record set in August 2019. May was also a record-breaking month.   “ILM has really been going gangbusters in terms of passenger growth,” said airport director Jeff Bou ...

Cape Fear Fair & Expo's two-decade ride on the grounds of Wilmington International Airport has come to an end, and the organization that runs it has no plans to hold the fair elsewhere this year. The airport authority declined to grant the fair's January request to use the airport property again, something the fair's officials knew was coming. "T ...

While some locals focus on the traffic and detours that major races like the Ironman 70.3 North Carolina and the Wilmington Marathon cause, the economic impact they have on the region can make it worth the few extra minutes of drive time.    The YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon, which will take place Sept. 24, is one of the longest-running triathlons on ...

Travelers should take extra steps to ensure their plans go smoothly during this anticipated busy Labor Day weekend.  Wilmington International Airport (ILM) encourages travelers to arrive two hours prior to their departure time. Travelers can also check parking availability on ILM’s website, which is updated to show how many spaces are available in each lot.&n ...

Local vacation rental management firm Carolina Retreats has become part of Florida-based VTrips Holdings, according to Mike Harrington, former Carolina Retreats owner.  Harrington said Carolina Retreats, which has a portfolio of more than 400 properties on Oak Island, Pleasure Island, Topsail Island and Wrightsville Beach, will continue on as is but is now part of ...

Visitor spending in the Cape Fear region was up last year, according to state data released Wednesday.  Tourist spending in the tri-county region jumped a dramatic 41% between 2020 and 2021, slightly behind the state average of nearly 45%.  A study commissioned by the state’s tourism arm, Visit North Carolina, part of the Economic Development Partners ...

Wilmington is well known for its film sets, restaurants and area beaches, but there is a movement to make it better known for its music scene. Each week there are a variety of opportunities to see what the city has to offer for your listening pleasure.    Singer and songwriters CB Johnson and Emily Burdette have made a space for artists to showcase their origin ...

After a total renovation that took about 18 months, the Holiday Inn Resort at Wrightsville Beach has completed its transition to a new look and a new name: Lumina on Wrightsville Beach, a Holiday Inn Resort. The reimagining and redesign were done by the new owner, OTO Development, which is part of The Johnson Group, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. OTO acquired the ...

While Charleston and many Florida cities are well-known for being popular ports of call for cruise lines, few people realize that Wilmington hosts a few ships a year coming into port along the Cape Fear River.   For more than 20 years, Wilmington has been a stop on the American Cruise Lines small ship cruises through rivers on the East Coast. The East Coast Inland P ...

The Cucalorus Festival has covered a lot of ground over the past 28 years, and with executive director Dan Brawley at the helm, it continues to add new features, including spaces for visitors to get on board the creative train, so to speak.   Brawley has been leading the charge for Cucalorus since 1999, and in that time, he has helped the festival grow by creating a ...