“...The lumberjack festival is really just a human, community-organized event to bring people into the Old Town district, to kind of showcase our spaces here and just have a good time in a really weird, quirky way that Old Town knows how to do really well,” Lenon said. “It also plays on some of the historical background to the lumber industry that Old Town Lansing has, and Lansing has as a whole. So it kind of dips into that historical educational side of things that we like to kind of lean on here in Old Town as well.”

The festival, Lenon said, kicks off the spring season in the community. 

“To be honest with you, there's not a lot that happens in Lansing in February and March, and so it really is a way to kind of invigorate and reenergize our community as we kind of dive back into the spring and get ready to, you know, kind of get the ball rolling again, so to speak,” Lenon said. “A lot of folks hibernate in the wintertime around here, and so we like to, kind of, just get people outside and again, get them into Old Town, activate our storefronts, and give our shops and business owners some activity there. And so these festivals help bring that business in for them as well.”

The festival included events like a beard makeover by Loyalty Barbershop, the ‘Feats of Strength’ competition and the ‘Least Professional Beard’ competition.

However, with events like this, Lenon said it takes “months” to ensure the festival runs smoothly.

“The committee that is behind this event started meeting about five months ago in preparation. Initially, it starts with one meeting a month, and then it snowballs into one per week in the last couple months, leading up to a lot of paperwork, a lot of forms to fill out for (the) city,” Lenon said. “...Hundreds of volunteer hours leading up to this, to this one single, five-hour festival…”

Attendee and member of the Lumber Blocks team Lemuel Woodworth said this year was his first time coming to the event.

“I mean, the camaraderie you see, everybody's out here enjoying themselves. It's a good showing of Old Town spirit, so that's a lot of fun,” Woodworth said.

The festival itself, Woodworth said, is what drew him to attend. 

“It's different, right? You don't really see lumberjack festivals all over the place, especially in Lansing, so it's cool to just get out there and have fun,” Woodworth said.

Similarly, for attendee and member of the Got Wood? team Tim Otto said the festival served as a break from the world.

“(The) world’s stressful, and it's just nice to get out and enjoy each other's company and drink a few beers,” Otto said.

Watching the competitions, Otto said, was his favorite part of the festival.

“I like the competitions, (they) are fun,” Otto said. “They're kind of goofy and crazy, but just the camaraderie and seeing the other teams having a good time too.”

This event, Lenon said, is important to bring those living in Lansing together.

“...Just to be able to come out and be a part of your community, there isn't much of a greater movement than that is to be a part of something where you live, where you work, and where we can all come together and try to make our spaces in Lansing a more vibrant, more active and more utilized space,” Lenon said.