GAYLORD, MI -- Over the years, Alpenfest has become a staple to Gaylord and to Northern Michigan.

Not only is it a great business-booster for downtown, but the family friendly atmosphere has families coming back year after year.

On Thursday, 7&4’s Andrew Keller took part in some of the activities that were going on.

Thursday morning started off right.  Mancinos brought boxes of pizza downtown for a pizza-eating contest.  The question was who could eat a piece of pizza the fastest.  The young kids put their abilities to the test first!

Six year-old John Jenkins says his favorite food is pizza, and before it even started, I had my money on him.  He told me his technique was a secret.  A secret that won his age bracket.

“The easiest part, the most part is you have to try to gobble it up and see if you can get yours done before someone else," he explained.

The older kids also got their shot to be in the pizza slice spotlight, and it was like watching a bunch of little professional eaters doing their thing.  Some probably needed a little practice.

“Since I love pizza, I just like did my own," said one winner, Erik Oldenburg.

And when it got to the 20-plus age bracket, I jumped in, and I ate a piece of pizza in less than one second.

There was also a stilt-walking contest, where a little more athleticism and proof of balance was needed.  Some people had it down, me, not so much!  I discovered that during a personal challenge.  I finished second out of only two.

"Even though you failed it tremendously, I would still do it too!" said 12 year-old Jenna Adam.

A little comfort for the display of embarrassment.

But that's ok, I had fun, and fun is what Alpenfest is all about for all ages.  Older folks got a chance to watch a traditional line-dance.  Al McCoy has been to all 47 events and puts it perfectly.

“You see these young children having fun, and just walking around, you see it constantly, constantly, everybody's shaking hands, hugging, it's like one big family, what else can I say," said McCoy.

From pizza eating to stilt walking it's a whole town of fun!