Fourteen greek houses opened their doors to Ames trick-or-treaters Tuesday night for Halloween, and despite the rain, things went smoothly, organizers said.

The main purpose of the event was to provide a safe and centralized location for Ames children to trick-or-treat, said Mike Milligan, vice president of public relations for InterFraternity Council.

The trick-or-treating event has taken place for about eight years and provides a safe environment for the kids, Milligan said. The area was well lit and gave parents and guardians a better feeling about letting their children trick-or-treat, he said.

All of ISU’s sororities and fraternities were involved, and the chapters paired up in groups of three or four to provide 14 trick-or-treat houses, Milligan said.

Candy was handed out and chapter members decorated their houses.

“The event is always a good time … We really enjoyed seeing the kids in their costumes,” Milligan said. The rain probably had a little impact on participation, but the kids and college students were as excited as ever, he added.

“Considering the weather, I think it went very well,” said Pam Laird, special projects director for the Panhellenic Council.

It is a really good philanthropy because we had a lot of participation and satisfaction from the event, Milligan said.

“In light of the alcohol situation, it is nice to see some of the good things the greek system does.”

The candy and decorations were paid for by the chapters.

Contests were held for the best decorated, best costume and most creative. Best decorated was the Alpha Delta Pi, Pi Kappa Phi and Delta Chi group; best costume was the Pi Beta Phi, Triangle Fraternity and Alpha Sigma Phi group; and most creative was the Tau Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Zeta and Alpha Tau Omega group.