In 2018, HighLight attracted more than 100,000 people to Lower Hutt.

Lower Hutt is where the wild things are and more than 100,000 people are expected to visit them over Labour Weekend.

Installations have started arriving at Riddiford Garden and the Civic Precinct which will host the four-day HighLight Carnival of Lights.

Illuminated interactive installations and performances featuring creatures, structures and landscapes will be split into different zones; land and sky, bugs, the elements, life below the waves and a mythical forest.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF The Octopoda installation has been set up in Dowse Square ahead of the Highlight Carnival of Lights over Labour Weekend.

Event director Carla Steed said they were preparing for large crowds at this year's "wild things" themed festival.

READ MORE:

* Dozens of gowns donated to Lower Hutt op shop just in time for ball season

* Hutt's HighLight organiser 'gobsmacked' by size of the crowd

* HighLight Carnival of Lights shines on Lower Hutt

* HighLight festival to shine on Lower Hutt's Riddiford Gardens this Labour Weekend

Organisers were sent scrambling to find extra volunteers, ambulance staff, security and food trucks when more than 120,000 visitors turned out last year. They had initially expected 30,000.

Supplied Everyone attending HighLight is being asked to give $1 towards the Te Omanga Hospice rebuild.

Steed was expecting a similar number of visitors to last year.

More than fifty installations and performances would be on show. The majority of exhibits had been developed for the event.

There would be plenty of critters and creatures on the bill and Steed was particularly looking forward to seeing "Colin" - a scrap metal Tyrannosaurus rex.

Supplied Interactive displays proved a big hit with children last year.

Steed said HighLight was an excellent opportunity for people to explore the newly revamped Riddiford Garden and Civic Precinct.

The gardens were an essential part of the carnival experience and recently completed work meant organisers had about a third more space to use than last year.

The Hutt City Council have spent $9.8 million upgrading the gardens as part of a wider facelift of the Civic Precinct.

Supplied An aerial performer catches the light and the attention of the large audience.

A fireworks show would be held at 9.30pm each night. Stead said people who were uncomfortable with crowds should aim to come after the fireworks or on the Monday evening when smaller crowds were expected.

HighLight's charity partner this year is Te Omanga Hospice who are raising the last $2.5m for their new $10m facility. Collectors will be out during the event for the hospice and fundraising projects are being arranged by the carnival's sponsors.

* HighLight Carnival of Lights runs from October 19-22, between 7 and 11pm. The event is spread across Riddiford Garden and the Civic Precinct.