MADISON, Wis. -- On a mild Saturday night, large crowds in costume flocked to State Street for Freakfest, the city-sanctioned annual Halloween party.

READ: Down On The Street: Wandering Through Freakfest 2008 | SLIDESHOW: See Freakfest 2008 Photos (Vol. 1) | SLIDESHOW: See Freakfest 2008 Photos (Vol. 2) | SLIDESHOW: See Freakfest 2008 Photos (Vol. 3)

This was the third year that the city of Madison gated off State Street and charged admission to what was previously a spontaneous street event. Rechristened as Freakfest, the event has become more of a downtown happening with live music than the near-riot it was sometimes in the unregulated years.

As with last year, the city partnered with local promoter Frank Productions to lure several national and Wisconsin acts to appear on a trio of stages dotted along State Street.

This year, nationally established acts like Donavon Frankenreiter and college-rock favorite O.A.R. topped the bill, helping draw out a larger crowd. Madison Police Department spokesman Joel DeSpain said that 38,300 tickets were sold for Freakfest 2008.

Police describe this year's event as calm but the biggest Freakfest ever. Officers worked crowd control, clamping down on folks jumping up and down.

"The others as they jump, they sometimes bang into people and others who aren't part of that don't like that and they swing and the fight starts," said University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Chief Sue Riseling.

As of 2:45 a.m. on Sunday, Madison police said there had been 77 arrests Saturday evening. They said that most of the arrests were for relatively minor offenses, most for alcohol violations and disorderly conduct. These arrest numbers are down from last year's.

By 2 a.m., the streets were almost empty except for all the trash. As cleanup crews got to work, most of the partiers put themselves to bed.

As with last year, the crowd was mostly calm and well-behaved and made up a mix of college-age students and older revelers.

The city increased admission prices this year from $5 to $7 in advance and from $7 to $10 the day of the event. The cost of admission is intended to help offset the cost of security and police overtime for the event.

More than 34,000 people purchased tickets to Freakfest in 2007. Last year, 120 people were in police custody by the end of Freakfest, which was a 64 percent drop from 2005. The total weekend arrests were also down, with a total of 175 arrests in 2007.

For costumes, as with past years, superheroes, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, escaped inmates, Nintendo characters and movie characters were all popular choices. This year, many people dressed as Super Mario Brothers characters or the Joker.

Madison police said that about 10,000 celebrated Halloween in downtown Madison Friday night. Police said the crowds Friday were mostly well behaved but there were a couple of fights. Police said that two Wisconsin State Troopers suffered minor injuries while making an arrest outside of a State Street tavern. Police also said that one reveler was transported to a local hospital after falling off of a second-story roof on University Avenue.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.