Tons of Candy, Smiles at Fall Fun Fest [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- The River's Edge Convention Center was packed Saturday afternoon with local families celebrating Halloween at the annual Fall Fun Fest.

For years, Joy Christian Center has put on the event as a warm trick-or-treating destination that features numerous games and a lot of candy to give away.

"We have literally over a ton of candy to give away," says Event Coordinator Michelle Jose. "Our goal is for each kid to leave with a bag full of candy."

The free event -- which also collects donations for area food shelves -- has come a long way since being held in a shed its first year.

"We started out with just 100 people [showing up]," Jose says. "And our biggest [turnout] since was about 5,000 people."

This year's event looked to be on a good pace for the turnout, as Jose says they had nearly 2,000 visitors just an hour-and-a-half into the event.