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Old Town Lansing to host 10th Annual Scrapfest this weekend

July 12, 2018
Festival attendees contemplate Jackson resident Kyle Orr's sculpture "Bezalels Art" at Scrapfest on July 16, 2016 in Lansing's Old Town.
Emilia McConnell | The State News
Festival attendees contemplate Jackson resident Kyle Orr's sculpture "Bezalels Art" at Scrapfest on July 16, 2016 in Lansing's Old Town. Emilia McConnell | The State News —

Something old becomes something new at Scrapfest X, where recycled materials are transformed into art.

On July 13 and 14, Turner Street in Old Town will be lined with sculptures, all envisioned and created by teams of Michigan artists using only scrap metal, wood, glass and other materials. 

Leading up to Scrapfest, participating teams spend an hour at Friedland Industries, a recycling center in Lansing, collecting scrap materials. Teams then have two weeks to create a work of art made only of recycled and found materials. The pieces are brought to Old Town and put on display for the public.

On Saturday, the finished sculptures will also be auctioned off to the public starting at 3:30 p.m.  

Executive Director of the Old Town Commercial Association Vanessa Shafer invites visitors to view the art, enjoy the entertainment and participate in art activities, a raffle and the live art auction. 

“We have food trucks and we have live music on Saturday and we have a DJ on Friday night,” Shafer said. 

According to Shafer, there will be approximately 22 large and nine small sculptures on display, all created by Michigan artists. The majority of artists are from the Lansing area. 

“There’s so much talent around here, we don’t even have to reach out,” Shafer said. 

In addition to viewing the sculptures, patrons can purchase art from eco-art vendors throughout festival. Saturday night will feature live music from Alex Mendenall, Jonathan Watt, Matthew Shannon and Mike Bass.

A full list of vendors and the times for each musical performance can be found on their Facebook page.  

"The cool thing about it is you get to watch little kids and their grandparents and couples and everyone is celebrating up-cycled art. The sculptures this year are freaking unbelievable," Shafer said. "Come down, it is such a cool festival, unlike anything else."

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