Woodstock Willie did not see his shadow this Groundhog Day, predicting the arrival of an early spring.
This contradicted the prediction cast by Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, who saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
According to legend, if a ceremonial groundhog — Phil, Willie, Staten Island Chuck in New York, or any of several others — sees his shadow, he interprets it as six more weeks of bad weather and he returns to his hole. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he believes it’s a sign of spring and he stays above ground.
The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray was set in Punxsutawney, but filmed in Woodstock. Groundhog Day festivities took off in Woodstock in the years after the movie was released, eventually including a real groundhog to make a prediction much like the one in the real Punxsutawney.
Woodstock Willie’s predictions are on the books for every year since 1997, though one year, the question of more winter was overshadowed one year by day-of winter concerns. A historic blizzard on Groundhog Day in 2011 forced the ceremony to be called off.
Woodstock Groundhog Days chairman Rick Bellairs was none too disappointed in Woodstock Willie’s prediction for this year.
“I was really happy,” Bellairs said. “I mean, after the weather we had last week with the minus-20 wind chill and all, I’m ready for spring.”
This year, a star of “Groundhog Day” was present for the ceremony, and he even earned a key to the city. Stephen Tobolowski played Ned Ryerson in the movie — fans will remember he warned Bill Murray’s Phil Connors character that the first step off the curb is “always a doozy.”
“Stephen’s a special guy. This is, I think, his fifth time back to Woodstock for the Groundhog Day festivities. He doesn’t have to leave his 80 degrees in Southern California and come, but he loves seeing all the fans, and the meaning of the movie, what it’s mean to the fans,” Bellairs said. “So this year, Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner presented Stephen Tobolowski with a key to the city.”
Bellairs also noted that people who weren’t even born yet when the movie “Groundhog Day” came out — an age range that includes some full-grown adults these days — are still eager to turn out for the festivities in Woodstock and see the filming sites.
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