Lahaina is hoping to bring back a Halloween celebration that was scaled back four years ago.

With backing from Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, Lahaina’s Front Street will once again be closed to traffic, and a merchant-sponsored Halloween costume contest — a major event in past Halloweens — will return to Lahaina Banyan Tree Park.

“We need to encourage these kinds of high-profile events in order to stimulate our economy,” Arakawa said. “In these times of slow to no growth, we have to be aggressive at creating and promoting activities that will bring business to our towns.”

The celebration, which once attracted an estimated 20,000 visitors and residents, encountered opposition from some Maui residents who felt it was inappropriate in the historic district and the former capital of the kingdom of Hawaii, and the nonprofit merchants group Lahaina Town Action Committee was unable to secure a permit for the special events.

The county stopped closing Front Street during Halloween night in 2007.

Police say attendance slipped to about 10,000.

In the early 1990s the Lahaina Town Action Committee started promoting Halloween in Lahaina as the “Mardi Gras of the Pacific,” attracting visitors from as far as New York to events with prizes that in one year included a trip to Tahiti and dinners at more than a dozen restaurants in West Maui. Some people reserved airlines seats for their costumes.

This year the county has created a partnership with the committee to promote the event.

Arakawa said this year the slogan is “Halloween Is Back on Front.”

“It has been a desire of our administration to bring back a safe, fun, familyfriendly Halloween event to Front Street,” he said. “Our residents and merchants have asked for it, and my administration has worked hard with multiple community groups, organizations and government agencies to bring this event back.”