Why a Minneapolis neighborhood sharpens a giant pencil every year
June 6, 2025
Residents will gather Saturday in a scenic Minneapolis neighborhood for an annual ritual — the sharpening of a gigantic No. 2 pencil. The 20-feet-tall pencil was sculpted out of a mammoth oak at the home of John and Amy Higgins. The beloved tree was damaged in a storm a few years ago. But the Higginses saw it not so much as a loss, but as a chance to give the tree new life. The sharpening ceremony on their front lawn has evolved into a spectacle that draws hundreds of people to the Lake of the Isles neighborhood, complete with music and pageantry.
