Adamson Square filled with children dressed as vampires, super heroes and even whoopie cushions Thursday evening for the Carrollton Main Street Program’s annual Tiny Tots Halloween Extravaganza event.

Main Street Director Jessica Reynolds said that the event usually draws between 1,200 and 2,000 children to the square but that participation was extremely high this year.

“I’ve never seen a line to trick-or-treat,” she said of the long lines in front of each business handing out candy.

The event, which was sponsored this year by Carrollton Academy, received all of this year’s candy from Food Lion. Reynolds said the donation allowed Main Street employees to spend money on a few new items for this year’s event, including the adult-sized inflatable slide. Each business on the square that participates in the Main Street Program received 500 pieces of candy to distribute to trick-or-treaters, which Reynolds said is a much safer way for children to get Halloween candy. In other attempts to increase security during the two-hour event, roads through the square are shut down and police and fire personnel are on hand.

“It’s a fantastic event,” said Carrollton Fire Chief Jimmy Bearden. “We participate every year. We look forward to meeting the kids.”

Julia McCleod said she lives near the square and brought her children to Tiny Tots because she enjoys participating in many downtown Carrollton events. McCleod said she also enjoyed the comfort of knowing her children were trick-or-treating in a safe environment.

“It’s just a very safe way for the kids to get out and have a good time,” she said.

Misty Wyatt of Carrollton plans to take her three children trick-or-treating tonight as well but said she felt comfortable knowing that traffic through downtown was blocked.

“They block off the roads so it’s safer, and everything’s free,” she said. “It’s nice.”

The majority of Main Street Program events, including the Tastes of Carrollton event last month, are fund raisers for the program. The money collected by the Main Street Program is then poured back into a variety of promotions and other projects to enhance the downtown area. Reynolds said that Tiny Tots is the one event of the year when the Main Street Program is able to spend money just to put on a community event like this.

“It’s our way of saying thank you to the community,” she said.

Carrollton City Manager Casey Coleman said many Carrollton residents look forward to Tiny Tots each year and that Main Street workers put many hours of time and energy into making the event a success.

“You could say it’s pretty successful,” he said. “It puts them in a safe environment.”

In addition to providing a safe environment for local children to enjoy around Halloween, Reynolds said the Tiny Tots event also goes along with the goal of the Main Street Program: promoting downtown Carrollton.