The weather was blustery -- enough to finally get the attention of the trees, which had no idea what to do with their leaves this year -- but nothing can deter Santa Claus from his appointed rounds. He arrived in town in classic style, riding a big red Fairfield fire truck right up to Sherman Green where the crowd was waiting to greet him. Many thanks to event sponsor Fairfield County Bank for helping us bring St. Nick to Fairfield.

When the kids weren't lining up to see Santa, there was lots to do and see elsewhere on the green. Area non-profit organizations were selling everything from baked goods, cookies and the ever-popular gingerbread houses to ornaments, face painting and letters to Santa (just to refresh the old guy's memory of the kids' wish lists).

A petting zoo sponsored by Patriot National Bank brought the little ones up close and personal with llamas and other fuzzy critters. (I'm guessing that the parents were staring at the animals and thinking, "Mmmm, warm blankets ... and they've got feet so they can follow you around. How cool is that?" But there were no reports of stolen sheep.)

And the horse-drawn wagons braved the traffic around the green once again, sponsored by Splash, Super Duper Weenie, Bigelow Tea and Maritime Motors.

Santa was the star of the show as always, but we'd especially like to thank our honorary elves -- Taylor Passios, Hannah Clarke and Peter Christopher of Fairfield County Home Inspections -- for their invaluable assistance.

Greg Beno of Adecco Employment was on the scene of course, so be sure to check out his slideshow. I think he really captured the personalities of the llamas.

And we also thank the trees for finally getting with the program. Fall is already over, you knuckleheads.

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It was a Trick or Treat on Safety Street like any other -- only with more kids, more candy, more unseasonably warm temperatures and more daylight. Hard to complain about that.

Beside the kids and their parents, the usual suspects were there: Chamber people in disguise, political types dressed to freak out the adults, and wiener dogs pretending to be lunch.

And that was just the action on Sherman Green.

Elsewhere, ravenous armies of children roamed up and down the Post Road, where businesses were handing out the treats. Take a look at Greg Beno's epic dotPhoto slideshow and you'll have a good idea what that was like. (Greg really outdid himself this time, and the Halloween special effects are even better than last year's.)

A few enterprising business people managed to slip in a little self-promotion with the candy, but mostly they were serving up general goodwill. And that's always been the secret ingredient of Trick or Treat on Safety Street.

So them's the treats, but what about the tricks? Well, we had that gaggle of political candidates trying to look like ordinary folks who just so happen to need your vote. That's a good trick.

And let's see you cross the Post Road without being run over by someone dressed up in an SUV. That's more than a trick -- it takes real talent.

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