There are certain things that make you feel inherently American. Things like eating a hot dog while watching the Super Bowl, a country music concert, or watching fireworks in the shape of bald eagles for the Fourth of July. For me, nothing was more American than waiting with 50,000 people to see Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day.
My journey to Punxsutawney was extremely spontaneous—but honestly one of the most fun family trips I’ve ever been on.
We (my dad, middle brother, and I) did not plan on going to Punxsutawney until 9 p.m. the night before Groundhog Day (February 2 this year) and we left our house at 2 a.m. in order to get to see Phil in time.
When we pulled into Punxsutawney (about a two hour drive from here) we saw how much the community is centered around a groundhog. With most homes having blow-up groundhogs in their yards, Phil murals everywhere, and businesses named after all things groundhog the town was ready for the festivities.
When you get to Punxsutawney, you are instructed by roadside signs to go to the Walmart, high school, or Aldi parking lots and then ride a school bus up to Gobblers Knob, the park home to the festivities.
However, through word of mouth we learned that the wait to get on the buses was about 90 minutes long and the easiest route would be to walk to the park.
We parked at the bottom of the hill right where the roads were officially closed and started walking. We only had a half hour walk uphill, and compared to other people’s hour trek it wasn’t terrible.
We officially arrived at the Groundhog Gates (a real thing) at 5 a.m. and were ready to celebrate.
The weather for the morning was beautiful and at a crisp 20 degrees; we were thankful it wasn’t snowing.
Gobbler's Knob itself is a park with a hill sloping down towards a stage and Phil’s “stump” that he is pulled out of for the festivities. The park is pretty small, has a visitor center (we weren’t allowed in), and has no grass, only straw and gravel on the ground.
There is no place where anyone can sit down and chairs are not permitted in the park during the event. There was a small elevated area for handicapped visitors but sitting would only make a spectator colder. When you commit to attending the Groundhog Day celebration you commit to standing for well over six hours.
In the park there were only four things sold: donuts, coffee, groundhog merch, and beer.
This meant that after a quick lap around the park for a few photo ops and a view into Phil’s year round enclosure we picked a spot, and were ready to chant “Phil Phil Phil” for the next two hours.
Most people say that at Disney World, though their lines are notoriously hours long, lines go quickly because of how much there is to see, and that is exactly the experience Punxsutawney was. (I’m sorry I just compared Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to Disney World. I'm embarrassed.)
We got into our places just in time to see one of the first of multiple Phil hype videos and Phil edits on the Jumbotron set up in the park. Out of everything that was put on for the day this is what fired up the crowd the most.
Afterwards, two separate bands were brought out to sing some Groundhog Day songs including our favorite, “Don’t Stop Philieving.”
Once the crowd was amped up for the emergence of the woodland rodent, the festivities took a patriotic turn when there was a 30 minute fireworks show following the National Anthem.
With time ticking towards sunrise the state “celebrities” made an appearance including Miss Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro, our senators, and a woman who was apparently Johnny Cash’s niece.
To wrap up the pre-groundhog festivities the “Inner Circle” was introduced in an NFL style intro video. The “Inner Circle” are about a dozen men who are a part of the “Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.” They are all nicknamed weather names including “Downpour” and “Frostbite” and are in charge of taking care of Phil and all groundhog festivities. I even got a picture with the club president!
Then finally at sunrise (7:30 a.m.) the “Inner Circle” paraded to the stage and took Phil from his stump.
At this point the crowd went crazy with Phil-mania (and perhaps too much drinking at too early in the morning), but this is where things got even sillier.
The whole legend is that Phil speaks “Groundhogese” to the Inner Circle and instructs them on whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter or if springtime is coming soon.
This year Phil said . . . six more weeks of winter!
As soon as the ceremony finished they played one last Phil hype video and there was a mass exodus.
Due to the relatively nice weather and the fact that Groundhog Day fell on a Sunday this year there was a record number of attendees: 50,000.
Oh, and remember those buses we mentioned? Yes, 50,000 people now had to take those buses back to their cars. All. At. Once.
Luckily we were a part of the about 8,000 people who chose to walk. I couldn’t imagine how long it would have taken us to get home if we had to take a shuttle or get out of a parking lot.
Yet this crazy mob style exit was part of the fun, and I would recommend every Pennsylvanian to visit Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney at least once in their life.
We pulled into my driveway at 11 a.m. and despite my sleep schedule being destroyed for school the next morning it was an amazing experience that I would love to do again!