Amid the throngs of families who trick-or-treated at Main-Dempster Mile’s Spooky Saturday event, Alex Keefe’s wizard hat and wooden staff bobbed up and down.

The Evanston resident walked with his family, including his 5-year-old daughter who was dressed in a mermaid costume, as they stopped at local businesses for candy. He said he relished the chance to walk around as Gandalf, the wizard from “The Lord of the Rings.”

“I’m wearing my bathrobe and also a wig that I bought, and I am extremely hot,” Keefe said. “But I like dressing up anyway, so this gives me a socially acceptable excuse. I’ll take any one of those that I can get.”

Hundreds of families like Keefe’s walked around the Main-Dempster Mile area to collect candy from 84 participating businesses, wearing costumes ranging from dinosaurs to the Tin Man from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Judy Igliori, who owns Shaker Traditions gift shop on Dempster Street, said the range of costumes impressed her.

“I like the kooky ones,” she said. “A young girl was in here with chicken bones strung around her neck. It’s kind of creepy looking, but she thought that was really cool.”

The annual celebration stands as one of the Main-Dempster Mile’s marquee events, according to Katherine Gotsick, the Special Service Area’s executive director. Pumpkin carving and pet costume contests took place later that day during the Spooky Saturday block party, an event that debuted this year.

Spooky Saturday aims to boost local businesses’ brand awareness, Gotsick said.

“This event is probably the one where the store owners get the most people who come in and go, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know what you did in here,’ or, ‘I’ve never been in here before,’” she said.

Events like Spooky Saturday can also help draw new businesses to the Main-Dempster Mile district. At a Spooky Saturday event a few years ago, Chinh Nguyen was searching for a spot to house his new electronics repair shop. This year, he stood behind the counter to hand out candy at MicroRepair, the store he opened in 2021 on Chicago Avenue.

“Seeing all these people walking back and forth and trick-or-treating, and for us to actually see all this while we were looking for places to open — it was one of the factors,” Nguyen said.

MicroRepair serves as an example of how events where “people are enjoying themselves” can boost the local economy and benefit small businesses, Gotsick said. As various characters filed in and out of his store on Saturday, Nguyen savored the added brand recognition.

“It attracts new customers,” he said. “They probably didn’t know that we were here before. But now, just passing by, they realize they can get their stuff fixed here.”

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