Turntables will be twitching and scratching in Lansing’s Old Town when the second annual Electronic Sound and Image Festival kicks off Friday afternoon.

Last year’s ESIFest drew more than 15,000 people during the two-day event. Co-founders Jerome White, Scott Vangilder and Rick Wyble were so pleased with last year’s turnout that they expanded the event to three days and added a second stage.

This weekend’s free festival will also include turntable and break-dancing competitions open to the public and educational workshops and forums in addition to the dozens of disc jockeys spinning throughout the weekend.

Another new addition to the festival is a shuttle bus service that will provide free transportation from MSU’s campus to the festival.

“When we went to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, we were awestruck,” White said. “We wondered why Lansing didn’t have something like this.

“And we decided there was no reason that it shouldn’t.”

White said he knew Vangilder, Wyble and he could put this festival together year after year and make it successful.

“It worked out so well last year,” he said. “We thought we could improve it.

“With the new stage and the extra day we’re expecting 30,000 people.”

White said having the festival in September has worked out well because students are back in school.

“No matter what anyone says, this town thrives on students,” White said. “We wanted to have the time to promote it to them and everyone else.”

Wyble said the festival is not only good for the students but for the community.

“The media has come down on the electronic scene,” he said. “A lot of people think it’s dominated by drugs.

“We are very adamant about showing we are here for the music.”

Wyble said the main reason for the festival was to promote the electronic music culture in Lansing.

“This is the only large venue that the DJs in Lansing have,” he said. “And with the new art tent and workshops, we wanted to show that this is a culture that has various forms of art within it.”

MSU alumna Deon Foster said he will be spinning video footage on a large screen during the festival on all three days.

“A lot of times people don’t watch the show, they just watch what I’m doing,” Foster said. “I’m like a mad scientist up there.”

Foster started spinning videos while he was attending MSU and his passion and technique have continued to grow for the little known art.

“I only know of three other people in Michigan who spin video,” he said. “I started out playing locally, and I found that techno was the only type of music that gave me a consistent venue.”

Foster, a 1999 fine arts graduate, said spinning video truly is a form of art.

“You get crazy feedback and visuals,” he said. “I get a lot of people who are just loving it.

“I create millions of paintings every time I do a show.”

For more information go to www.esifest.com.