Hundreds of kids in Grand Island collected Halloween candy early at the annual "Downtown Spooktacular" event.
Participating Downtown Grand Island businesses opened their doors for kids in costumes.
For the kids, the event was no different than the traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, but parents said they were able to worry less about nighttime safety, and enjoy the time with their kids.
Business owner Helen Pohl said, "They [the parents] love it, I think they feel safe doing it, and that's the number one reason we like to do it, and the kids are so happy with it.
Some parents said they were able to enjoy the daylight experience.
Keith Tinnell, parent of a two-year-old boy, said "It's nicer, because you're not worried about night, you can't always see people at night."
When it comes to chaperoning a large group of kids, some parents said dark colored costumes at night are one of their greatest safety concerns.
Julie Garcia took a group of nieces and nephews to the ‘Downtown Spooktacular' event. She said, "It's different but it's neat to see everybody's costumes and recognize people, and at night time you don't really know who you're running into."
But Garcia says she will take her kids out on Halloween too as long as she's around to keep an eye on them."As long as I'm with them, I feel its okay to do both."
Business owners said they would be willing to continue to open their doors for the day side trick-or-treaters.
