A love in Common for pumpkins

They came, they carved, they conquered.

Pumpkin-mad Bostonians yesterday lit 30,128 pumpkins on Boston Common, shattering the world record for the most jack-o'-lanterns lit in one place. "It's fantastic," said Jim Laughlin, a spokesman for Life is Good, the Boston clothing company that sponsored the event. "We've been going after this record for a long time . . . Tonight, we got it."

The old record of 28,952 lit pumpkins had been held since 2003 by Keene, N.H., which last night lost bragging rights. People lit 24,682 pumpkins, bathing Main Street in orange. Organizers said the city of 22,000 people did not go down without a fight. "We had more pumpkins lit than people who live here," said Alan Davis , a director at Center Stage Productions , which organized the festival.

The dueling festivals drew thousands of pumpkinheads. In Boston, an estimated 100,000 people crowded onto the Common to slice, scoop, and sculpt pumpkins and to savor pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and a panoply of people dressed in pumpkin costumes. Mayor Thomas M. Menino greeted children dressed as ghosts and angels who marched in a costume parade.

In Keene, pumpkin pride also was on parade. More than 50,000 people jammed the city, including children dressed as pumpkins, and people who competed in a seed-spitting contest.

The friendly competitions raised thousands of dollars for charities. In Keene, about 59 non profits, including the Boy Scouts and school groups, raised money selling pumpkin pie, soup, and other pumpkin creations. Boston's event raised about $250,000 for Camp Sunshine, in Casco, Maine, which provides retreats for children with life-threatening illnesses. Proceeds from the sale of Life is Good T-shirts were being donated to the camp.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.