With the latest series of extreme weather events, spring and warmer weather can’t be far from anyone’s mind. Just ask those who experienced the snow, sleet, and freezing rain of last weekend, and then the ice and bitter cold during the days that followed, just how challenging it was to shovel sidewalks and driveways. Winter 2025-26 has, to this point, most assuredly been a colder and harsher season than the winters of recent years, at least in many areas of the country.
Could the elements be tempered a little and bring an early spring? For an answer, check in with the semi-mythical, legendary groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil a day after enjoying the popular and freshly launched Visions of BVA on February 1. Punxsutawney Phil will be awakened early on Groundhog Day, February 2, to view, or perhaps fail to view, his own shadow. The results of his discovery will be disseminated worldwide.
Groundhog Day, a tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year, derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. Last year, early spring was predicted at the annual ceremony in front of thousands of spectators gathered in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and a national audience viewing early-morning network news programming. Punxsutawney is in midwestern Pennsylvania.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle is comprised of 15 members whose task is to protect and perpetuate the legend of the great weather-predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.
The club was formed in the 1880s, and as the legend of Punxsutawney Phil grew, so too did the ceremony that honors him every February 2 at Gobblers Knob, a natural amphitheater in the woods. The Inner Circle manages and hosts the festivities of Groundhog Day that culminate at 7:20am. At that moment, they put on their tuxedos and top hats to bring Punxsutawney Phil from his stump so that he can tell the world if spring will come early, or if six more weeks of winter are ahead.
Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostications have drawn the attention and praise of thousands of his faithful followers who now flock to Pennsylvania each year from around the world. With so many of Phil’s fans now devoted to the celebration, the Inner Circle hosts additional events and gatherings throughout the week leading up to Groundhog Day, including the Groundhog Ball and the Groundhog Banquet! May Phil please see no shadow this Monday morning!
