Even Cinderella’s fairy godmother could not find a prettier patch of pumpkins with which to fashion an enchanted carriage than the 6,000 glittering glass pumpkins that lay sandwiched between Embarcadero and Newell Road.

Displaying the work of 30 artists, the 10th Annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch at the Palo Alto Art Center closed on Sunday, Oct. 16, after enthusiastic customers purchased the majority of the exquisite pumpkins.

“[This event] covers 26% of the fundraising for the Palo Alto Art Foundation, which raises money for kids’ art programs,” board of directors’ designer David Turner said.

“I believe the festival went really well [this year]” glass artist Chris Moore said. “It had great community support.”

The prices of the pumpkins ranged from $25 to $2,500. Most of the Profits go to the Palo Alto Art Center’s various children’s programs, and the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI), while the rest is for the artists themselves.

Not only did the artists create the pumpkins exclusively for this event, but they also blew other glass pieces throughout the year.

Artist Kathy Barrett remarked that she loved “the physicality of the glass [and creating] whimsical pieces… It’s like Christmas every morning [when I see] the finished piece.”

Other glass artists also expressed their passion for the material.

“The immediacy of the glass is wonderful,” artist John Scally said, “once you start you have to finish.” Scally has been blowing glass for six years.

The Glass Festival started in 1996 with the “goal to make the public happy and to enjoy artwork,” one of the event’s founding fathers, Bobby Bowes, said.

During Bowes’ partnership with glass artist Dale Chihuly and multimedia artist Kristo, Bowes became inspired by their artwork. This led to his interest in starting an annual show.

“[At first it was only] 700 pumpkins and five artists. [It has since then] improved to 6,000 pumpkins and 30 different artists,” Bowes said. “We definitely met our fundraising goals [this year].”

All of the artists reside in California. While most of them are local, a few journeyed from as far as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento, just for the show.

Unlike last year, Turner organized the display of the pumpkins to create a more garden-like feel.

“I organized them by color… raised the beds like a garden, and used garden carts to display the mini pumpkins and mushrooms,” Turner said. He also added the finishing touch of garden markers with the artists’ names on them.

Aside from the actual array of the pumpkins, Turner displayed small kiosks commemorating the founders, the Palo Alto Art Foundation, and the featured artists.

“Overall [the festival] was successful,” Turner said.