BELLBROOK — A night of pumpkin-flavored philanthropy took place at Bell Creek Intermediate as the 6th Annual Pumpkin Auction raised $8,800 for A Special Wish — Dayton.

Ninety-three pumpkins — created by fifth graders and their families — were put up for auction and sold for a total of $8,350, while sales of popcorn and face painting helped add to the total donated Wednesday night.

Sheridan, LLC., donated its auctioning services for the event, keeping the pace quick and lively and selling pumpkins in just under two hours.

“The Pumpkin Auction is such a great night for our school and our community as a whole,” fifth-grade teacher Scott Anderson said. Anderson has been the seed in the pumpkin that has made the event grow.

“I always think that I have seen all of the creativity with pumpkins that one can see and cannot be in awe of a new creation, but every year, our fifth-grade families blow me away and astonish me. Our community is so supportive of great causes. To help raise money in a fun way so we can grant wishes for Dayton area kids through A Special Wish — Dayton is so amazing. We at BCI are so grateful to the parents and community for the yearly support for such a worthy cause.”

Pumpkins were a wide range of shapes, colors, and carvings. Some were painted for local sports teams like the Reds and Bengals, others for the Golden Eagles. Some were tributes to Taylor Swift, or the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. Unicorns, candy apples, beloved childhood and literary characters as well as the solar system adorned many of the pumpkins.

The pumpkin that garnered the most cash was titled “Welcome to the Jungle” and fetched $335.

The event capped a three-year run that has raised $34,000.