PARIS — Preparations for McLaughlin Garden & Homestead’s 12th annual Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. But it is no small feat to put on the three-day fete honoring Halloween and, this year, dinosaurs.

Volunteers of all ages and from all walks of life came together this week to carve 600 pumpkins, organize the grounds and install the jack-o’-lanterns and lighting displays.

The theme for this year is dinosaurs and the prehistoric era, but there is no shortage of ghosts, goblins and other haunting characters on the self-guided tour that winds through McLaughlin Garden’s grounds at 97 Main St. in South Paris.

One could say the pay-off for all the preparation is a scream. Leslie Guenther, the garden’s interim director, said that the Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular is one of their largest fundraisers.

Between last Monday and Wednesday, Guenther said more than 100 people answered the call to come carve pumpkins. That doesn’t even count the member volunteers who prepped and gutted the gourds first.

Guenther said that with Oct. 13 being a holiday, families arrived at the local landmark to pitch in with supplied carving tools.

Other groups also did their share, including Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School students, employees from Hannaford, MaineHealth Stephens Hospital and Chalmers Insurance, inmates from Oxford County Jail and clients of Opportunity Enterprises in Auburn.

Students from Oxford Hills middle and high schools helped design and erect the displays throughout the garden’s pathways, combining the jack-o’-lanterns, lighting and exhibits.

“In addition to carving, we had students participate as part of school art projects,” Guenther said.

Combined with perfect fall weather, the work of creating this year’s Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular has paid off, Guenther said.

“We had about 350 attending Thursday, our first night,” Guenther said in a statement. “We’re already ahead of our numbers from last year. Tonight and Saturday we expect to see at least 500, or more, each night.”

“This event serves as a means of bringing our Oxford Hills community together,” added Corey Kotfila, McLaughlin Garden’s horticulturalist. “Schools, local businesses, agricultural producers and families all work together to make the Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular happen — through carving, donating pumpkins and helping to create beautifully lit displays.”

The Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular continues Friday and Saturday evenings, 6-8:30 p.m. Admission is $8 per person or two for $15 and includes warm spiced apple juice. Children 2 and under are free.