By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The streets of downtown Niles were filled with wall-to-wall costumes Saturday as the annual Halloween events in downtown Niles were held.
Downtown merchants were supplied with tubs, boxes and bags full of candy, ready to serve the 600-700 children who came out for the Safe Trick-Or-Treat event.
According to Lisa Croteau, program manager of Niles Main Street, including both children and adults, the numbers were more than 1,000.
"I was a little bit nervous about the weather because this was the first year we did not have the best weather. But when all was said and done I had nothing to worry about. The merchants were all very pleased and we did not hear any negative comments," Croteau said.
People came from a number of different surrounding towns and cities, including Buchanan, Dowagiac, Cassopolis, Decatur and Mishawaka, Ind.
"We came to the safe trick-or-treat last year and my daughters loved it. We live in Decatur, but my parents live in Niles. It's safe, the people are friendly and this makes me feel more comfortable than being out at night when it's dark," Sherrie McClaffen said.
Her daughter, Madyline, 9, dressed as a witch, while McKaylynn, 7, was a princess.
"That was a lot of candy," Madyline said to her sister after receiving a handful of goodies from stylists at The Shoppe.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Niles District Library sponsored the Niles Costume Contest. The event, previously sponsored by Simplicity Pattern, was also a hit. The library partnered with the Bertrand Crossing Optimists and the Niles High School's Drama Club.
Costume categories included cutest, scariest, funniest and book characters. Awards for each category were given in each age division. Winners will be announced tomorrow.
"What a fun thing to do for the kids. We went to the costume contest before this and there were a ton of people there. Niles really does well when it comes to fun events and activities for the children," Amanda Craft of Niles said.
Her son, Derrik, 5, dressed as his favorite superhero, Spiderman.
"I like it for him. It's not dark outside, there are great store owners in downtown Niles and there is security on every street corner. We do trick-or-treat on Halloween, but usually only go to a few houses. We like this event better," she added.