Today is Sunday, February 2, 2025 — which means that today is Groundhog Day in both the United States and Canada; and many places where Groundhog Day is celebrated are included in lists in this article.
The Places Where Groundhog Day is Celebrated…
The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil, who predicted six more weeks of winter because he woke up and saw his shadow at an official ceremony earlier today in the borough that is located approximately 84 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in southern Jefferson County. According to tradition, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back inside, predicting six more weeks of winter weather — but an early spring is expected if the groundhog does not see its shadow. The ceremony is basically that of tradition, as the history of those predictions were inaccurate more than 50 percent of the time since 1840, which is supposedly the year when this ritual was first mentioned in the German communities in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Groundhog Day was celebrated for the first time on Wednesday, February 2, 1887 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania.
“In Punxsutawney, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper. The following year brought the first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob. Each year since then has seen a steady increase in participation of the celebration from people all over the world”, according to this article from the official Internet web site of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. “The Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day has become most commonly associated with the current celebration, but it’s roots are older than that. The celebration started in Christianity as the day, (February 2nd), when Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. This, they felt, would bring blessings to their household for the remaining winter.”
Since then, many other places within the United States and Canada have their own official ceremonies — and groundhogs — for Groundhog Day. As one example, General Beauregard Lee in Georgia is arguably the most famous groundhog other than Punxsutawney Phil.
According to this map at Groundhog-Day.com, 83 prognosticators throughout North America include 69 that are located in the United States and 14 that are located in Canada — including:
United States
- Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania
- Octoraro Orphie in Quarryville in Pennsylvania
- Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie in Wisconsin, which proclaims itself as the “Groundhog Capital of the World”
- Concord Charlie in Athens in West Virginia
- Buckeye Chuck in Marion in Ohio
- General Beauregard Lee at Weathering Heights in Jackson in Georgia
- French Creek Freddie at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center in French Creek in West Virginia
- Gertie the Groundhog at Wildlife Prairie State Park in Hanna City in Illinois
- Dunkirk Dave in Dunkirk in western New York
- Malverne Mel in Malverne on Long Island in New York
- Staten Island Chuck at the Staten Island Zoo in New York
- Lander Lil in Lander in Wyoming
- Holtsville Hal at the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve in Holtsville in New York
- Woody the Woodchuck in Howell in Michigan
- Woodstock Willie in Woodstock in Illinois — which is the shooting location for the 1993 film Groundhog Day
- Mojave Max in Las Vegas in Nevada
- Sir Walter Wally at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh in North Carolina — but he retired in 2023
- Schnogadahl Sammi at Groundhog Lodge number 6 near Kresgeville in Pennsylvania
- Poor Richard at the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge in York in Pennsylvania
- Uni the Groundhog at the Union Kanaal Grundsau Lodsch No. 17 in York in Pennsylvania — the ceremony is performed in both English and the Pennsylvania Dutch language
- Grover the Groundhog and Sweet Arrow Sue at Groundhog Lodge number 5 in Pine Grove in Pennsylvania — they are the only married groundhog couple in Pennsylvania
- Ms. G in Lincoln in Massachusetts
- Stormy Marmot in Aurora in Colorado — he apparently loves traveling around the world
- Chuckles — a “self-proclaimed woodchuck” — at the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester in Connecticut
- Stonewall Jackson at Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Wantage in New Jersey
- Flatiron Freddy, who is a taxidermic specimen in Boulder in Colorado
- Bee Cave Bob in Bee Cave in Texas
- Snohomish Slew in Snohomish in Washington
- Beardsley Bart at Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport in Connecticut
- Potomac Phil, who is a taxidermic specimen for the Dupont Circle Groundhog Day event in the District of Columbia
- Sand Mountain Sam in Albertville in Alabama
- Buffalo Bert at the Hawk Creek Wildlife Refuge in Buffalo in New York
- Dover Doug is a mascot who is a person in a groundhog suit in Dover Township in Pennsylvania
- Lawrenceville Lucy at Cowanesque Lake near Lawrenceville in Pennsylvania
- Mount Joy Minnie in Mount Joy in Pennsylvania
- Bowman Bill at Bowman Library in Stephens City in Virginia
- Patty Pagoda on Mount Penn next to the picturesque Reading Pagoda in Reading in Pennsylvania
- Polk County Paula at the High Life Lounge in Des Moines in Iowa — FREE Miller High Life breakfast beer is given out in the morning on Groundhog Day from 6:00 until 8:00
- Scramble the Duck in Eastford in Connecticut
- Snerd at White Deer Park in Garner in North Carolina
- Tinicum Tim at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania
- Wildwood Willie at Wildwood Preserve Metropark in Toledo in Ohio
- Boise Bill is a stuffed plush prairie dog in Boise in Idaho
- Chesapeake Chuck at Virginia Living Museum in Newport News in Virginia
- Benny the Bass is a foreseeing fish in Buckeye Lake in Ohio
- Harleysville Hank at the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville in Pennsylvania — he became engaged to Harleysville Hannah in 2023 with no date set yet for the wedding
- Snowy the Prairie Dog in Pend Oreille Country in Washington
- Big Al is a 1,000 pound 13.4-foot alligator prognosticator in Beaumont in Texas
- Smith Lake Jake in Smith Lake in Alabama
- Concord Casimir, who is a weather-predicting cat at Ellison Creek Knob in Concord in Ohio in the greater metropolitan area of Cleveland
- Charles “Chuck” Winchester at Indiana Wild in Woodburn in Indiana
- Chuck Wood at the Groundhog Fever Festival in Quincy in California
- Cluxatawney Henrietta is an Ameraucana chicken at Muscoot Farm in Katonah in New York
- Mount Gretna Grady in Mount Gretna in Pennsylvania
- Stumptown Fil is a North American beaver who is the principal prognosticator and unofficial branch manager for the Oregon Zoo in Portland in Oregon
- Yonah the Groundhog at North Georgia Wildlife Park in Cleveland in Georgia
- Gordy the Groundhog at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee in Wisconsin
- Hope the Groundhog in Hope in Indiana
- MT Parker is a stuffed plush groundhog at Stauffer Mansion in Lancaster in Pennsylvania
- Sylvia the Armadillo in Apex in North Carolina
- Lady Edwina of Essex at Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange in New Jersey — replaced Essex Ed the groundhog who retired in 2021 and Otis the Hedgehog
- Unadilla Billie, who is a taxidermic specimen in Unadilla in Nebraska
- Pisgah Penny is a white Tree Squirrel who gives an annual prediction for “White Squirrel Day” in Brevard in North Carolina
- Queen City Charlie in Cumberland in Maryland
- Allen McButterpants at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays in New York
- Cedar the Groundhog is a young whistlepig at the Randall Oaks Zoo in West Dundee in Illinois
- Elliott the Groundhog at Acorn Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation in Millersville in Pennsylvania — has replaced Poppy the Groundhog, who was known internationally, nominated for an Emmy award, and retired in 2023
- Birmingham Jill at Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham in Alabama — Birmingham Bill is supposedly “taking a break” from predicting in 2015
- Great Neck Greta at The Village Green in Great Neck in New York
Groundhogs which are no longer active or may no longer be active include:
- Quigley at Quogue Village Fire Department in The Hamptons in New York for a few years
- Milltown Mel in Milltown in New Jersey — although Mel died in 2021
Canada
- Shubenacadie Sam at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Shubenacadie in Nova Scotia
- Fred la Marmotte in Val-d’Espoir in Québec — to celebrate Jour de la Marmotte
- Wiarton Willie at Wiarton in Ontario
- Manitoba Merv is a puppet that is actually a golf club cover at the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre in Manitoba
- Winnipeg Wyn at Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
- Balzac Billy is a person in a Richardson Ground Squirrel suit who is the “Prairie Prognosticator” in Balzac in Alberta
- Van Isle Violet, Chopper, and Marlu at the Marmot Recovery Foundation in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia
- Two Rivers Tunnel at Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Cape Breton in Nova Scotia
- Chilly Charlie is a person in a groundhog suit in Woodstock in Ontario
- Middlemiss Mike is a stuffed plush prairie dog in Melbourne in Ontario
- Fenwick Flossie is a person in a groundhog suit in Pelham in Ontario
- Lucy the Lobster in Barrington in Nova Scotia
- Heaven’s Wildlife Harvey in Oil Springs in Ontario — has replaced Oil Springs Ollie, who retired in 2021
- Okanagan Okie is a person in a Yellow-Bellied Marmot suit at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre in Vernon in British Columbia
Final Boarding Call
If you are fascinated with Groundhog Day, the lists in this article should give you some ideas on where to travel every year to witness the prognostications of various groundhogs, hedgehogs, taxidermic specimens, a woodchuck, people dressed as animals in suites, stuffed plush toys, and…
…a cat, a duck, a fish, an armadillo, a chicken, a lobster, a beaver, an alligator, and a squirrel.
Who knows whether you will experience another six weeks of winter? The shadow knows…
All photographs ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
