A Madison-based production company will help the city plan and manage the entertainment and ticketing system at the 2007 State Street Halloween celebration, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Wednesday.

This will be the first year Frank Productions, which promotes and produces concerts at venues like the Overture Center and the Barrymore Theater, will help with the event.

The company will also assist the city with event fundraising and promotion.

"From an organization standpoint, it will allow the city to focus more on the public safety aspects to make sure everyone who goes to the event is safe and the businesses on the street don't have any concerns about property," said George Twigg, communications director for Cieslewicz.

Last year's Halloween celebration, dubbed FreakFest 2006, was the first year the event had organized live music. The city and Frank Productions plan to continue this entertainment, as it provides event-goers with an alcohol-free activity.

"[Providing entertainment] seemed to help us have a much more positive event last year than we've had in previous years," Twigg said. "From our perspective, it's about making Halloween a more enjoyable event that does have more entertainment options beyond just drinking."

David Maynard, talent buyer for Frank Productions, said the company has been coming up with entertainment ideas for the event, but nothing is certain yet.

"We're going to be meeting with the [Halloween Action Committee, a student organization] as well as the city next week, and we'll know a lot more," Maynard said.

Maynard added he would also like to get community members and local businesses involved in the event planning, and that Frank Productions' experience in organizing large events should help them do just that.

"We have always seen that there is a lot of potential in this event for making it a positive kind of experience for the community as a whole," Maynard said. "That's what we really want to be a part of."

Twigg said the city has yet to determine what it will pay for these planning services, but he said the city expects there will be an arrangement related to sharing ticket-sale revenue. Last year was also the first year the State Street Halloween celebration required tickets for entry — tickets were $5 per person, generating about $160,000 in revenue.

The city plans to keep a similar ticket system for the 2007 event, Twigg said.

"Last year was really an experiment — it came together fairly late, but it still worked out fairly well," Twigg said. "Hopefully the things that made last year's (event) successful will be even more so in 2007."

City Council President Mike Verveer, whose district includes State Street, said he is excited Frank Productions will be involved in planning the 2007 event.

"It seems to me that if we are going to charge admission, that Halloween partiers have a right to quality entertainment in return for their money," Verveer said. "I'm confident that is exactly what Frank Productions will deliver."

However, Verveer said he hopes the ticket entry price can still be kept reasonable.

Last year he proposed a tiered ticket entry price, where students would receive a discount. He said he will lobby again this year for a similar system.