Latest news with #50th&France
Axios
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
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.
CBS News
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
After 50-plus years, future of Douglas Flanders' art gallery now in doubt
For Douglas Flanders, the Twin Cities art gallery bearing his name has been his life's work since 1972. "I was just trying to figure out what Minnesotans liked. I still, after 50 years, I still don't know," said Flanders, owner of Douglas Flanders & Associates. Syril McNally is Flanders' gallery director. "He's helped establish so many artists' careers locally here. International artists from China, from Italy, from Spain that he finds or gets to know somehow and then brings them here for their first show. And they then just blossom," McNally said. But now, Flanders needs the help of the community he has supported for so long. "We were doing pretty well up until two years ago. My health has affected the business a bit. I started having serious heart problems in 2019," he said. In addition, his home's water heater exploded in October, forcing him into temporary housing, which he's still living in. The financial burden of these hardships has fallen on the gallery, and its future is at serious risk. Flanders has only been in the space at 50th & France for the last five years. Without additional financial support, the gallery may have to leave in just a few months. "Worst case is by May or end of May," McNally said. The gallery supports 200 area painters and makers who would also be impacted. "I'd say about 80% of our local artists don't have another gallery that shows them in town," McNally said. An online fundraiser started just over a week ago hopes to raise $20,000. "It would help us pay rent, some salaries," Flanders said. He is grateful for the donations received so far. "It brought me to tears," he said. Flanders hopes the gallery will be able to stay at its current location for as long as possible. "Forever [laughs]," Flanders said. The online fundraiser has brought in over $7,500 so far. The gallery welcomes all ages.
