BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Families in Birmingham attended Halloween downtown at City Hall for the Harvest Festival Thursday evening.
After a few years without the festival, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin made the decision to bring it back this year.
Alicia Lumpkin, the Director of Process Improvement for the City of Birmingham, said months of preparation went into making the festival possible.
"We had a petting zoo, we had horse rides, carnival rides, carnival games, so it's just a lot for everybody," said Lumpkin. "We wanted to have a fun and safe event for families to come out, so we brought Harvest Festival back."
With help from law enforcement, local nonprofits and businesses, Lumpkin said they were able to accomplish that vision.
Parents in attendance say they chose to bring their children to the event for the safe atmosphere.
"I appreciate them doing this, making us feel like we had a safe place to go with everything going on. Most people don't want to go trick or treating with everything going on,
so, this was just a safe place," said Ashley Jackson.
Jackson said she decided to bring her son to the festival opposed to trick or treating in neighborhoods for safety reasons.
Lumpkins said they estimated around two to three thousand people stopped by the festival.