Twin Cities weekend: Giant pencil sharpening, Edina Art Fair, Prince celebration
It's that time of year again: The giant pencil at Lake of the Isles is getting its birthday sharpening.
Context: Since its creation in 2022, owner John Higgins has thrown a massive annual party for the community to celebrate the 16-foot-tall pencil sculpture, carved from a tree in Higgins' front yard by chainsaw sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad.
Previous years have included "human pencil" dancers, a drum line, T-shirt cannons, professional pencil sharpener David Rees, speeches on scrolls presented by barristers and free ice cream.
What to expect: The 4-foot-long giant pencil sharpener will make an appearance, but the rest of the programming is largely a mystery — though according to Higgins, the customary complimentary pencils handed out at the event will be purple in honor of Prince's birthday.
📍 Details: Saturday, June 7 from 1-2:30pm at 2217 E. Lake of the Isles Parkway, Minneapolis, rain or shine. Free!
More things to do ...
💜 Remember Prince's legacy at Paisley Park and downtown Minneapolis' Celebration 2025 Thursday-Sunday.
This year's event honors "the vibrant era of 1985" and includes access to panels, concerts, dance parties, exclusive listening sessions of unreleased audio and more. Packages for the four-day festival start at $752.75
🎨 The Edina Art Fair returns Friday-Sunday at 50th & France with over 250 local and national artists alongside live music, three beer and wine gardens, plenty of food trucks and a specialty culinary artisan marketplace.
🌈 Kick off Pride month in the suburbs this Saturday as Golden Valley and Anoka both hold their city-wide celebrations.
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