Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania His top-hatted handlers told a boisterous, record-sized crowd at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania that Phil had seen his shadow on Sunday and had forecast six more weeks of cold weather.
Shortly after sunrise, Phil was greeted by chanting of “Phil, Phil, Phil” and hauled from a hatch on his tree stump before a Punxsutawney Groundhog Club member read from a scroll that boasted: “Only I know you can’t trust A.I.”
Although the woodchuck’s weather forecast has been a yearly tradition in western Pennsylvania for over a century, with older roots in European folklore, it wasn’t until Bill Murray’s 1993 Groundhog Day movie that the event took on its current form, drawing tens of thousands of spectators and imitators from all over the United States and beyond.
It is said that Phil’s failure to perceive his shadow marks the beginning of spring. It will be six more weeks of winter when he sees it.
As the throng awaited morning and Phil’s arrival, they were treated to a fireworks display, confetti, and live music ranging from the Ramones to Pennsylvania Polka. Dignitaries present included Gov. Josh Shapiro, state and local government officials, and two pageant winners.
For 33 years, Jon Lovitch, a self-employed gingerbread artist from New York, has participated in the event.
In Punxsutawney, Lovitch remarked, “I like the cold, you know, and this is probably the best and biggest midwinter party in the entire world.” Additionally, it’s a great time.
One attempt to monitor Phil’s accuracy found that he was correct fewer than half the time, and he has predicted a longer winter significantly more frequently than an early spring. It’s up to the individual to decide what six more weeks of winter means.
There are two kinds of people who go to Gobbler’s Knob, according to Tom Dunkel, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club: the devoted who want to prove their faith and the skeptics who want to prove their doubts.
Using a unique cane that Dunkel inherited as the club’s leader, Phil used Groundhog-ese to convey his prediction to Dunkel. He doesn’t seem to speak in English.
Dunkel stated that he would like to wink, purr, babble, and nod.
Although admission is free, taking a bus instead of walking the one mile from the center of town to the stage where the forecast was made—about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh—costs $5. When Groundhog Day falls on a weekday, the local schools, whose sports mascot is the Chucks, close because of the high demand for buses.
After seeing the Groundhog Day movie five times in the last five years, Keith Post, his wife, and a friend decided it was time to travel from Ohio to see the event.
We are here, Post remarked, having reserved accommodations over a year in advance. We’re going to do it.
The club is building a lavish second residence for Phil and his family so they can divide their time between Gobbler’s Knob and Phil’s old residence at the town library, and a new welcome center opened four years ago. This year, the club has installed larger television screens and more potent speakers to make it easier for those at the rear of the audience to follow the action.
“It’s a holiday where you don’t really owe anyone anything,” said A.J. Dereume, who is Phil’s handler and was applauded loudly on Sunday by the club’s inner circle of 15 members. You know, you’re clinging to the belief in something that’s merely entertaining.
A year ago, Jackie Handley consented to make her first trip to Punxsutawney in order to assist a friend in crossing something off their bucket list. The temps were below freezing, and they were prepared.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we most likely won’t return. Handley, a resident of Falls Church, Virginia, added, “And we have tons of warm clothes.”
Following the forecast, Phil and other club members posed for pictures with members of the audience.
Although his family did not accompany him on stage for the major event, Phil is married to Punxsutawney Phyllis and has two puppies, Shadow and Sunny, who were born this spring. The groundhog family visits a veterinarian at least once a year, eats fruits and vegetables, and receives daily visits from Dereume.
According to club legend, Phil is the same woodchuck who has been predicting the weather for the past 100 years because he has an elixir of life that keeps him alive.
Dunkel stated that there is only one Phil and that it cannot be passed on. There is just one, just like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
At least 28 U.S. states and several Canadian provinces have hosted Groundhog Day celebrations. Groundhogs in Pennsylvania forecast more winter on Sunday in Manheim Township in Lancaster County, Mount Joy, Dover, York, and Lebanon County. At Quarryville’s Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, however, Octoraro Orphie was rumored to foretell the arrival of spring.
General Beauregard Lee, a groundhog in Jackson, Georgia, some 50 miles southeast of Atlanta, spotted his shadow, which his handlers said meant six more weeks of winter. At a Canadian wildlife park in Nova Scotia, Shubenacadie Sam was also reported to have seen her shadow and foreseen six more weeks of winter.
– The Associated Press, Tassanee Vejpongsa and Mark Scolforo.
