Weather prediction only part of the fun in Punxsutawney
PUNXSUTAWNEY — After more than three hours of waiting in cold, mountainous air in the middle of a crowd of about several thousand people, seeing a fuzzy, half-asleep groundhog being hoisted into the air by a man who resembled Mr. Monopoly was the last thing I could have expected to be the payoff for my long wade through the early dawn.
But the crowd of thousands went wild at the sight of it Wednesday morning, and the cheers of adoration for the exalted rodent warmed the brisk 7 a.m. air, which eventually culminated in disappointed, but accepting, “boos” at the news that we would be getting six more weeks of winter.
It was Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, and 2022’s observance marked the return of the events and festivities that had been the tradition for the holiday before the coronavirus pandemic put it on hold in 2021.
Jeff Lundy, president of the Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, a group of local dignitaries responsible for carrying on the tradition of Groundhog Day every year, said Wednesday’s crowd was possibly the largest for a weekday event the celebration has ever had, with people attending from all over the world.
Lundy was the one who communicated with Phil on the morning of, and presented him with two scrolls written in English that Phil used to communicate his weather prediction. The wait for the Inner Circle to give the prediction on the scroll seemed to outlast the entire three-hour stretch of anticipation before Phil had broached the stage.
My only goal for the impromptu day trip was to make the holiday one I would be OK with reliving over and over again in the unlikely event that I became trapped in a time loop.
I wouldn’t have imagined getting up at 2:45 a.m., driving more than an hour to wait in line for a school bus that would take me to the top of a chilly hill three hours before the big reveal of Phil’s prediction would be a sequence of events that I, ultimately, would enjoy, but the grandiose pageantry presented by the organizers made the entire morning fly by.
I found a spot on the hill leading down to the stage around 4:30 a.m. From there, I watched musical performers hype up the slowly growing crowd by playing hit songs, along with some familiar tunes with modified lyrics reflecting Groundhog Day or Punxsutawney Phil and some original odes to the rodent. The stage even held a wedding ceremony involving a person with connections to the Inner Circle.
Judy Ferree, owner of Hotel Saxonburg, attended the event for the first time to see her son, Chris Ferree, compete in the Gobbler's Knob Got Talent show with his band, No More Daisies.
The band ended up winning the talent contest and $500 prize for their song, a rendition of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” with rewritten lyrics about Phil. While seeing the band take home the prize and glory was her favorite part of the day, Judy Ferree said the general mood of everyone present was something to behold.
“I was impressed with the enthusiasm and just everyone outside being silly,” Ferree said. “They had two gentlemen who were the hosts; they were all dancing and singing trying to pump up the crowd — it was very festive.”
Two emcees kept the stage energetic from 3 a.m. until the Inner Circle presented Phil around 7:15 a.m. They led the crowd through chants of “Phil, Phil, Phil,” told jokes relating to the event's weather-centered roots and even belittled the temperature of the day by periodically shouting “Lordy, Lordy, it’s almost 40.” Their efforts to warm the crowd worked figuratively and literally.
The legend of Punxsutawney Phil largely preceded the rodent and event, and presented an atmosphere of reverence. While it was an experience I have had on my bucket list for years, I can’t say I can picture an ensuing year that would top 2022.
Ferree had a similar sentiment.
“I’m not sure I would go again; it's hard to stay up all night,” Ferree said. “But I am glad I did it.”
