Edmonton's Chinatown holds block party to celebrate the area
Edmonton Watch
A group of business owners and volunteers held a block party in Edmonton's Chinatown over the weekend as part of an effort to attract people to the area. CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg was there.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Every year, folks travel from far and wide watch this giant pencil get sharpened
John Higgins likes to think of the six-metre-tall pencil on his front lawn as a piece of pop art. "When you think of pop art, you think Andy Warhol or Claes Odenberg. I mean, these are these iconic artists. They take a simple object in bold shape and colours, and it's fascinating how humans relate to it, " he told As It Happens guest host Stephanie Skenderis. "That's exactly what this is." Once a year, the massive piece of pop art becomes an interactive community art installation. Hundreds — or sometimes even thousands — of people make their way to Higgins' house in Minneapolis to watch the giant pencil get sharpened with a giant pencil sharpener. "It's fun. It's joyful. There's no agenda. It's not a commercial event. There's not a ticket or anything," Higgins said. "But through word of mouth, I think, people come and they really have fun." The giant pencil was once a giant tree Saturday marked the fourth annual pencil sharpening event. But the sculpture's origins date back to 2017, when a sudden and powerful windstorm hit the city and ripped Higgins's beloved oak tree from his front lawn. The tree, he says, was about 180 years old. "It was very very hard to see that happen," he said. "Very sad, I'll say." He remembers the oak's severed trunk amid the storm's debris in the aftermath. "It looked very, you know, almost sinister — just marred wood at the top and looked, kind of, at night time, like a broken skeleton." So he and his wife, Amy Higgins, decided to turn it into art. They enlisted wood sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad to transform it into a replica of a classic Trusty brand No. 2 pencil. "Why a pencil? Everybody uses a pencil," Amy said. "Everybody knows a pencil. You see it in school, you see it in people's work, or drawings, everything. So, it's just so accessible to everybody, I think, and can easily mean something, and everyone can make what they want of it." As soon as they conceived of the pencil, Higgins says they came up with the idea of sharpening it. So Ingvoldstead also crafted a to-scale pencil sharpener for the task. "It's about four feet large [and] weighs a hundred pounds," Higgins said. "We hoist that up, and turn it around a few times and the pencil gets sharpened." 'Life is too short' to miss the sharpening The first year they did this, Higgins said, a few hundred people showed up, mostly from the neighbourhood and surrounding area. But over the years, he says, it's grown through word of mouth and social media. Last year, he says about 1,000 people attended. This year, he estimates the crowd was in the multiple thousands, with people coming from out of state, and even other countries. Some people dressed as pencils or erasers. Two Swiss alphorn players provided part of the entertainment. The hosts commemorated a Minneapolis icon, the late music superstar Prince, by handing out purple pencils on what would have been his 67th birthday. Rachel Hyman said she flew from Chicago on Friday for the event, which a friend told her about. "Some man is sharpening a pencil on his lawn and this is what happens?" Hyman said Saturday while dressed in a pencil costume. "Yeah, I'm gonna be part of it. How can you not? Life is too short." A ritual sacrifice You may be wondering why a giant sculpture of a pencil would even need sharpening. Higgins says the tip, while not made of lead of granite, gets worn down by the weather throughout the year. But, mostly, he says, it's for the symbolism. "This is a community pencil. With the sharpening, there's a chance for, you know, renewal, a new beginning, a promise for writing another note," he said. "People love that message." With each sharpening, the pencil gets shorter and they lose a part of the artwork. Ingvoldstad, the sculptor, says that's the whole point. "Like any ritual, you've got to sacrifice something," Ingvoldstad said. "So we're sacrificing part of the monumentality of the pencil, so that we can give that to the audience that comes, and say, 'This is our offering to you, and in goodwill to all the things that you've done this year.'" So how many years until it's nothing but a little stub with a bright pink eraser? And what happens then? "We don't have answers to that, and we're fine with that," Higgins said. "But for today, for this moment, we're going to take what we have and make the most of it."
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
The Forks to host 11 days of programming culminating in Canada Day celebration
An art display at The Forks on March 24, 2025. (Daniel Halmarson/CTV News Winnipeg) The Forks is gearing up to host 11 days of programming, stretching from National Indigenous Peoples Day to Canada Day. According to a news release, this year's events fall under the theme 'Many Nations, One Heartbeat' and are aimed at celebrating the many cultures that make up Manitoba and Canada. 'From National Indigenous Peoples Day to Canada Day, we honour truth and celebrate coexistence by uplifting the voices of those who have always – and who now – called this land home,' Kíwétinohk Consulting co-owner and event collaborator Victoria Perrie said in a news release. 'Each day is rooted in ceremony, education, and joy, drawing us together through the rhythm of drums, the stories of Elders, and community.' It all begins on June 21 on National Indigenous Peoples Day with Indigenous performers, Inuit games, skateboarding demonstrations, a Kookum fashion show, a handmade market and more. The Forks will co-host alongside the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. Events between June 21 and July 1 will each focus on different treaty regions in Manitoba, uplifting language, traditions and teachings of Indigenous nations while recognizing shared stories of all who live here today. Celebrations culminate on Canada Day when The Forks hosts a family-friendly day of events, including dance battles, a basketball tournament, food trucks, a handmade market, critters from FortWhyte Alive, and a wide variety of performers.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘We lost completely everything': PEI Music teacher loses home and livelihood to fire
Marc DesRoches and his cat Tchai who has been missing since the house fire. (Source: Marc DesRoches) A Prince Edward Island couple is rebuilding their lives after losing nearly everything in a devastating house fire — including a lifetime's worth of musical instruments. Marc DesRoches is a private music teacher, second oboe with the PEI Symphony Orchestra, and the creator behind Brass Glow Co., a business that turns broken instruments into beautiful home décor. Last week his entire home and studio went up in flames. 'We lost the entire thing,' DesRoches said in an interview with CTV Atlantic's Katie Kelly. 'We lost completely everything. It's burned straight to the ground.' Marc DesRoches' living room Pictured is Marc DesRoches' living room after the house fire. (Source: Marc DesRoches) Among the losses were multiple oboes, an English horn and three pianos. His partner Glen Gamble an avid plant enthusiast, also lost more than 100 meticulously cared-for houseplants. Perhaps most painful is the uncertainty surrounding their cat Tchai, who has been missing since the fire. 'Probably the biggest potential loss is my cat,' DesRoches said. 'We're still continuing the search for her.' The day after the fire, the couple launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $10,000. Within days, donations poured in — surpassing $28,000 as of this week. 'The response has been incredible,' DesRoches said. 'I can't even put into words how much it means to us.' The money will help DesRoches replace his instruments so he can return to teaching and hopefully rejoin the orchestra this summer. 'In the meantime, I'm not picky,' said DesRoches. 'If I can find an instrument to borrow, I'm happy as a clam.' He says while much remains uncertain, he's staying hopeful — and grateful. 'We're feeling very, very blessed.' Gamble echoed that sentiment, expressing deep appreciation for the outpouring of support from friends, strangers, and fellow Islanders. 'It's humbled me in so many ways that I didn't even think were possible,' said Gamble. 'I can't be any more thankful.'
