MINNEAPOLIS — The annual “Sharpening” celebration drew crowds Saturday afternoon to the Lake of the Isles home of John and Amy Higgins, where a 20-foot pencil sculpture stands as a neighborhood landmark.
The tradition began after a windstorm years ago toppled the top of a 100-plus-year-old oak tree in the Higgins’ yard. Rather than remove the remains, the couple commissioned Curtis Ingvoldstad of Big Woods Sculpture to transform the trunk into a massive wooden pencil. Each year, about a foot of the sculpture is ceremoniously “sharpened” off, marking the event.
Saturday’s festivities began at 1 p.m. at 2217 Lake of the Isles Parkway East and included music from the University of Minnesota Pep Band, dancing, ice cream, souvenir pencils and a T-shirt giveaway…