Groundhog Day Brings out Punxsutawney Phil Replicas

Groundhog Day is Friday, and Punxsutawney Phil is not the only groundhog preparing for the big day in Pennsylvania. There are plenty of others eager to weigh in on the possibility of six more weeks of winter.

As PennLive points out, some of the Phil copies are not even real groundhogs. For example, Dover has “Dover Doug,” a person dressed as a groundhog, who delivers his prediction at 7 a.m.

Myerstown hosts Groundhog Uni, a taxidermy mount, who has offered his winter predictions at Myerstown Recreation Park. The Union Kanaal Grundsau Lodsch No. 17 of Eastern Lebanon County has organized the event every year since 1981.

Grover the Groundhog makes his prediction at 9 a.m. in Schuylkill County, with the help of wife Sweet Arrow Sue. Like Groundhog Uni, they are also both taxidermy mounts. Sweet Arrow Lake Conservation Association president Denise Donmoyer told PennLive that their lifeless state gives the groundhogs an advantageous “connection to the spiritual world.”

Mount Joy Minnie is a stuffed animal, but the people of Mount Joy will still gather at 7 a.m. at the Rotary Clock to learn her thoughts on meteorology.

The Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville has its own taxidermy mount, named Octorara Orphie. The ceremony starts at 8 a.m. at the Chateau in the Valley of White Rock in Kirkwood.

The York Slumbering Groundhog Lodge has Poor Richard, another taxidermy-mounted groundhog. Before the deceased groundhog makes its prediction, the lodge inducts new members and recites the Groundhog Pledge.

Newhart actor William Sanderson will join Shipoke Sheena to make her prediction in Harrisburg. Sheena is actually a dog dressed in a bear costume pretending to be a groundhog who consults with a NASA meteorologist. Sheena has only been in the forecasting business for five years.

“The main purpose of Ground-dog Day has always been to celebrate life in Shipoke and Harrisburg in general,” event organizer Joanne Kaldy told PennLive. “We wanted to open the event up to more people in the city and encourage them to come out and celebrate Harrisburg. The Broad Street Market seems like the perfect venue. It is the quintessential symbol of our city — vibrant, fun, exciting, diverse, and original.”

Pennyslvania is not the only state with groundhog day ceremonies. In New York City, there is Staten Island Chuck. Mayor Bill de Blasio will not be attending this year’s ceremony, according to SILive. He has not attended since 2014, when he accidentally dropped a groundhog. She died days later, but the Staten Island Zoo said the fall was not likely responsible for her death.

Photo credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images