Wilmington's Halloween Loop won't have a loop for its 40th anniversary in the fall.

The event's iconic bar crawl has been axed, replaced with an Oct. 26 costume ball at The Queen, event organizer Out & About magazine has announced.

The move comes after a man fired a gun multiple times on the crowded patio of Kelly's Logan House during last year's event. No one was injured.

While last year's incident was a consideration when it came to the decision to change, Out & About magazine publisher Jerry duPhily says it was not the main motivation. They had already been planning to make this year's loop special due to the anniversary.

Since the Halloween Loop will be celebrating four decades of costumes, bus rides and fuzzy memories, Out & About has decided to go the nostalgia route this year.

Expect to see a Halloween Loop crowd with older faces than usual at the costume ball, which will target Halloween Loopers of the past, not the 20-somethings who tend to cause problems.

LAST YEAR'S LOOP: He was inches away from the gunfire at the Logan House as the Halloween Loop ended

Former bartenders from favorite loop spots over the years (Kahunaville, Bottlecaps, Bank Shots) will be slinging drinks, old Halloween Loop posters from past years will be displayed and old-school bands will be on stage.

The Caulfields, Montana Wildaxe, The Numbers and The Snap are all on the bill.

"The Halloween Loop is the biggest, longest-running nightlife tradition in Delaware,” duPhily said in a statement announcing the costume ball. “The Loop’s 40th anniversary gives us an appropriate opportunity to celebrate all the venues, bands, bartenders, fans and great costumes that have contributed to the legacy of this exceptional party series.”

Tickets will cost $40 and will be available at outandaboutnow.com. The show will benefit the Light Up the Queen Foundation.

The format of next year's Halloween Loop is unknown, duPhily says, stressing that October 2020 is a long way away. "The entire focus is on making the 40th a memorable night," he says.

In the past, partiers would pay $10 for a wristband, allowing them to ride a fleet of school buses that would ferry costumed bar-hoppers from location to location. In 2017, the Halloween Loop stopped using buses and instead began giving a Lyft discount code to each participant.

Trolley Square's bars are currently in the process of creating a smaller, "neighborhood-oriented" event of their own for that same weekend, tentatively called Halloween on the Square, says Joe McCoy, owner of Catherine Rooney's and Trolley Tap House.

"When they introduced Lyft, it changed from what it was originally. Still good, but different," says McCoy, whose bars have been Halloween Loop destinations in the past.

David Hayes, Trolley Square Oyster House bar manager, says his restaurant had already decided it would not participate in the Halloween Loop this year.

He says even though it starts later in the night, the loop scared off the restaurant's dinner crowd, which is especially strong on Saturday nights. In the end, the Halloween Loop didn't add to their bottom line. In fact, it may have actually hurt business.

Last year's Halloween Loop at Trolley Square Oyster House was extremely crowded, just like it has been in recent years for many of Trolley Square's bars, which are tightly packed in a small bar district.

"Back in the day, we had gigantic venues like Kahunaville and Bank Shots that could absorb those extremely large crowds. We don't have places like that now and everyone comes to Trolley and it's packed to the gills," Hayes says. "People drink and get uncomfortable while wearing costumes. It's just not good. It was time for us to move on from it."

Out & About's Tuesday announcement of the Halloween Loop's format change comes nine months after New Castle's Tyler Vega, 26, was arrested at the Logan House during last year's event.

LAST YEAR'S LOOP: After report of gunshots, Kelly's Logan House resigns from Wilmington Halloween Loop

Following the gunshots, party-goers fled and bar security quickly tackled Vega. Police quickly arrived and arrested him, wrapping the patio in police tape.

Vega was charged with multiple felonies and pleaded guilty to firearm possession by a person prohibited, first-degree reckless endangering and carrying a concealed deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Logan House, one of the biggest bars on the loop, took little time in announcing it would not participate in the future.

The next day, owner Michael P. Kelly wrote on Facebook, "The Logan House has resigned from the Halloween Loop. Regrettably, it brings to our establishment a clientele we do not welcome.

"I am happy to report that no one was injured last night. We did everything 'by the book,' including the hiring of extra security and police and the limiting of the number of customers. We wish the Halloween Loop all the best. But we will no longer be a part of it. And we look forward to another 130 years of giving our customers a safe and fun place to visit."

The incident came four years after every Trolley Square-area bar pulled out of the loop due to concerns about overcrowding and the potential for danger.

The one-year boycott came after crowds clogged both the bars and the streets, creating an unsettling scene.

Wilmington attorney Steve Rosen was on the Logan House patio last year when gunfire erupted and says it might be a good time for the event to change.

"It seems like it's a little bit of a different day in terms of crime and violence and the potential is there for problems when you pack so many people into Trolley Square," he says. "It's just not a great model funneling thousand of people into a couple of blocks and pumping them full of alcohol."

Xerxes Wilson contributed to this report. Got a tip? Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: Halloween Loop's 40th anniversary

When: Oct. 26

Where: The Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington

Information: outandaboutnow.com