Photos: Record Crowd in Fridley for Pumpkin Night in the Park 2011

Preparation for Saturday's Pumpkin Night in the Park began with the end of last year's event and culminated in a week of frenzied pumpkin-carving and set up.

There was perfect fall weather for the night's festivities at , part of the City of Fridley park system. 

At the end of Saturday's event, Jan Swanson, administrative program director at Springbrook, looked exhausted but was all smiles.

"Our biggest turnout to date had been 3,500," she said. "Our attendance tonight passed that with approximately 3,800 people, including volunteers."

Attendance for this one-night event surpasses any other in Fridley throughout the year, with the possible exception of the cumulative attendance for Fridley 49er Days.

This year, more than 310 volunteers helped with the event, along with more than 500 volunteer pumpkin-carvers.

Fridley police, including community service officers and reserves, were out in force to direct traffic to the nine parking lots used for the event, including overflow at WalMart and Target. Parking was hard to find between 7-8:30 p.m. when the closest lots were full.

Todd Anderson entertained with his Elvis Lives show that had kids dancing and adults singing along. Northern Lights provided the music for the Pumpkin Patch Dance and got everyone going with their enthusiasm and popular songs, such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Gallons of kettle corn were gobbled by young and old and washed down with hot chocolate as people sat around multiple campfires.

After a bit of a break, planning for next year's event will start, with organizers hoping for an even bigger and better event.