17 teams of artists had one hour to collect up to 500 pounds of scrap from Friedland Industries, Inc. for their projects. Each team had two weeks to transform their scrap into works of art, which were displayed and auctioned off at ScrapFest. No two sculptures were alike. For example, one sculpture depicted a car with a functioning engine, while another sculpture depicted a man walking with a wheelbarrow while smoking a pipe.

“ScrapFest in general is kind of a good way to bring all the artists together, and it’s nice to see everybody’s projects all in the same place,” Lansing resident Rex Litwiller said. “It’s nice to see everybody else around Lansing that’s got really good ideas and making cool things out of scrap in general. It’s good for inspiration and seeing things from other people’s points of view.”

This was Litwiller’s second year attending ScrapFest, and he said he hopes to compete as an artist next year.

Those who attended the festival were able to vote for their favorite sculptures in the Peoples Choice category. A panel of three judges chose the top three sculptures. Artists who placed in the top three earned both trophies and cash prizes.

This year’s winner was “Struggle” by Kyle Orr, a 46-year-old Jackson resident who primarily works as a union construction worker. The sculpture depicts a person with his or her hands chained to a wall, unable to cover their face because the chains are too short. Orr said this restriction for the prisoner could possibly mean being powerless to escape or take cover from shame and humiliation. “Struggle” was also the Peoples Choice winner and the most serious entry.

“I haven’t done art in probably 10 or 12 years, and so this piece probably represents me and how I felt over the last 10 to 12 years not being able to express myself,” Orr said. “And instead of making it just about me, the face of the sculpture doesn’t really have a face, so it’s actually just anybody who feels like they’ve been trapped and can’t exercise something that’s a gift in them.”

ScrapFest also included live music, a beer tent, food vendors and children’s activities. There were also artisan booths selling works of art made from recycled materials.

Old Town offers several festivals throughout the year, including Lansing JazzFest in August, Old Town BluesFest in September and Oktoberfest late September/early October. However, Litwiller said ScrapFest is his personal favorite festival.

Litwiller said he particularly enjoys the theme of sustainability that Old Town incorporates not only with ScrapFest, but also as a norm for its residents.

“There’s a lot of upcoming back-to-the-roots kind of shops (in Old Town), and it’s nice to see the environmental and the sustainable factor of things come into town,” Litwiller said. “It’s kind of important for the future to keep those things moving.”

Orr said he isn't sure if he'll come back to compete in another ScrapFest because of the hard labor it took to create the sculpture.

"When somebody says, ‘Hey, do you like this? Do you want to do this again?’ when you’re in the middle of the build, you’re like, ‘Absolutely not! I want to go home and be done with this right now.' But you have to push through it and finish it, which is also a struggle," Orr said. "And yet, I still feel like, yes, I want to.”

Orr does not have a professional website for his art, but he said he will show his artwork on Facebook.

All of the ScrapFest sculptures were auctioned off at the end of the festival on Saturday.

Old Town is a commercial district on the north side of Lansing that overlooks the Grand River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Today, Old Town is known for its cultural events and recent revitalization efforts, including additions of boutiques and restaurants to boost the local economy and reduce crime rates to some of the lowest in the city.

The next festival in Old Town will be Lansing JazzFest on August 5 and 6.