MEXICO – Pumpkin goo. Gotta love it if you want to help Camp Sunshine break the Guinness World Record for lit jack-o-lanterns at its Maine Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Cumberland fairgrounds.

At least one jack-o-lantern more than 30,128 of the bright orange gourds must be gutted and carved to break Camp Sunshine’s previous world record, which was set in 2006 at the Boston Pumpkin Festival.

Jump-starting the fun on Saturday were employees and customers at eight Maine Wal-Mart stores and two in New Hampshire. Each store offered 100 pumpkins to the public to carve, free of charge.

At the Mexico Wal-Mart on Route 2, however, employees showed more pumpkin-carving spirit than the public in the two hours following the 10 a.m. start. It wasn’t for lack of trying, either.

“Hi, want to carve a pumpkin? It’s free and fun,” Jamie Cousins of Hallowell asked customers entering the Lawn and Garden department.

Perhaps, it was the sight of stringy yellow-orange pulp and seeds on her shrit front that turned people away. Or maybe it was the growing odor of pumpkin innards that quickly overpowered aromas of several nearby rows of potted fall flowers.

Taking a break from her job, Cousins deftly cut the top off a pumpkin, then reached in and yanked out pulp, seeds and goo. She had last carved a pumpkin at the age of 6, she said.

“Oh, I love this feeling,” she said, plunging both hands in to scoop out more and drop it into one of many bag-lined wastebaskets lined up beside two tables, behind which boxes and boxes of artificial Christmas trees were stacked.

Cousins was soon joined by employees Liz Jorgensen of Mexico and Lindsey Lake of Peru. The trio then started an assembly line of gutters and carvers to work on the pumpkins from Zehner Brothers in Nescopeck, Pa.

By 10:50 a.m. 11 gutted gourds were lined up and awaiting carvers.

In between pumpkin gutting, Lake and Cousins took turns via the store intercom system trying to entice customers and fellow employees to help Camp Sunshine meet its goal. Their efforts bore fruit by the afternoon.

“It became a wicked success. It was awesome and the other stores were rocking it out, too. Employees from those told me they just appreciated being part of such a large event,” Cousins said of increased public participation.

As more and more children arrived to carve, Cousins said she had to increase her pumpkin gutting pace on the assembly line.

“I got a jigsaw, and it cut the tops off the pumpkins much faster, and more kids showed up and started carving faces. After we got done, I was like so dressed in pumpkin,” she said.

Other scheduled pumpkin-carving activities include one being held by Downeast Energy and Building Supply. The company has planned to reach a goal of 1,000 pumpkins carved during its own charity pumpkin-carving event for the public from noon to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Downeast’s corporate headquarters at 18 Spring St. in Brunswick.

And, Casco-based Camp Sunshine is hosting community carving nights for Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Cumberland residents on Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 1-3, at the Cumberland Fairgrounds.

Residents of each town will compete on individual nights to help their community win the challenge and earn bragging rights. People are being encouraged to bring in as many carved pumpkins as they can.

All carved pumpkins will be on display at the Maine Pumpkin Festival, which runs from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but parking is $5 at the fairgrounds. Attendees are encouraged to bring carved pumpkins and votive candles. The pumpkin lighting for the world-record setting attempt is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Presented by Hancock Lumber, the pumpkin festival will also feature live music, magic shows, a costume parade, pie-eating contest, face painting, food and, of course, pumpkin carving.

All proceeds will benefit Camp Sunshine, a national retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families located in Maine’s Sebago Lakes region.

For more information or to learn more about the events, and/or to support Camp Sunshine, call 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.