For the last five years, the sharpening of a giant pencil sculpture has dominated social calendars for the first week of June.
The 20-foot tall No. 2. pencil sits in the yard of John and Amy Higgins. The story goes that a few years ago an oak tree was damaged in a storm and instead of removing it, they consulted wood sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad who turned it into a pencil.
Now, thousands of people gather annually for a party in the Lake of the Isles neighborhood with costumes, pencil hats and of course, commemorative No. 2 pencils to take home.
Amy said at first, her expectations were low. Would people really come out on a summer day to watch a pencil sculpture be sharpened? She did not expect the event to become a viral local moment.
“We thought maybe a couple 100 would be a lot, and the first year I think maybe we had 300 or 400 but then it’s just gotten bigger as more people hear about it, and now last year I think it was about 4,000,” she said. “I mean, it’s crazy that it’s grown that much but it speaks to people’s yearning for some fun and you know, just joy.”
Amy said people from up to 30 different states and even a few countries have made the journey to the pencil. Her favorite part of the sharpening is the sense of community the day has created, and pride to live in Minneapolis.
“We just love Minneapolis. We love the people here, it's a very welcoming community and very community-minded as everyone knows from the past year. It brings us a lot of happiness to do this,” she said.
