<em>Photo above: Terri Stokes, left, with husband Mark Stokes, center right, pass out candy.</em>

<b>By Bob Sofaly</b>

Bay Street in downtown Beaufort was overrun with more than 2,500 ghosts, ghouls, zombies and superheroes Thursday afternoon during the 18th annual Trick or Treat Beaufort event. Children of all ages and their parents flooded Bay Street for an hour-and-a-half as they moved from one store to the next enjoying all of the 65 participating businesses downtown. “It’s absolutely a blast” said Terri Stoke, co-owner of Bay Street Jewelers. “It’s great to see families together; parents taking time off to be with their children and come downtown” she said. “It’s never been about increasing sales. It’s all about seeing the smiles on children’s faces.”

[gallery columns="5" ids="26053,26054,26055,26056,26057"]

<em>From left: Gray Williams was all dressed up as a giraffe, including a cool pair of sunglass but couldn't make it past nap time during the 18th annual Trick or Treat Beaufort event; Jan Gentry made sure he grandchildren didn’t get swallowed by the storm drain as more than 2,500 children lined up along Bay Street; Maureen Davis, of Hemingway's, displays her ghoulish zombie side; Beaufort Firefighter Ben McHome passes out candy to children to begin the circuit downtown; monsters, princesses and the Mario Brothers pose for a picture. Photos by Bob Sofaly.</em>