Volunteers gathered to carve pumpkins for a good cause Saturday and set a record for the most lit jack o’ lanterns in one place in Maine.

The goal of the Maine Pumpkin Festival in Cumberland benefiting Camp Sunshine was to earn distinction in the “Guinness Book of World Records” by beating the 30,128 pumpkins carved at a 2006 fundraiser for the camp in Boston. Matthew Hoidal, executive director of the nonprofit camp said he wasn’t disappointed by the result.

“The event was a great success, both from a fundraising and marketing standpoint,” Hoidal said. “Although it wasn’t a world record, it was a new record for Maine.”

Hoidal said 22,481 jack o’ lanterns were lit and more than $100,000 was raised for Camp Sunshine as a result of the event.

Camp Sunshine, based in Casco, is a national retreat for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. The camp offers week-long camp sessions free of charge, during which families are able to strengthen their relationships, have fun and meet other families facing similar challenges.

Around 20,000 people attended this year’s Maine’s pumpkin festival at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. Camp Sunshine will hold similar pumpkin festivals in Boston on Oct. 18 and New York City on Oct. 25.

Hoidal credited the hundreds of volunteers for making the event a success. “You can’t say enough about what they accomplished,” he said. “It’s messy and tiring work but everyone was in good spirits.”

For a first-person account of making the jack o’ lanterns, read this week’s Inside Raymond column by Carol Meader on page 5.

Victoria Wiles, 3, of Gray, matches smiles with the jack o’ lanterns carved by volunteers for the . More than 22,000 jack o’ lanterns were lit, setting a new Maine record and raising $100,000 for Camp Sunshine in South Casco.