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Social Media / Foursquare / Groundhog Day / Pennsylvania Travel / Tourism Boards / → All Tags

Happy Groundhog Day! Now Get the New Foursquare Badge

Hallelujah—Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow early this morning, when the little famous groundhog was removed from his burrow at Gobbler's Knob, near Punxsutawney, PA. This means an early spring, which is lovely to hear since it's already like Mother Nature took six extra weeks of winter and just layered them on top of the last six weeks.

In order to allow people to show their love for the cute critter and gain a special Foursquare badge at the same time, Pennsylania's Tourism Board has added a fourth badge to their current collection. Unlike the previous three badges, you don't have to be in Pennsylvania to score the Groundhog Day one, but there are still some requirements:

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Movie Travel / Groundhog Day / Illinois Travel / Bill Murray / Events / → All Tags

Little Illinois Town Celebrates 'Groundhog Day' Over and Over

In Woodstock, Illinois, Groundhog Day is the biggest holiday of the year. In fact, the town throws a six-day party called Groundhog Days to celebrate, which this year is January 28 to February 2. But really, every day in Woodstock is Groundhog Day.

That's because Woodstock, which is about 50 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, was the site for the 1993 Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell flick Groundhog Day. And the town takes the honor of being a stand-in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, seriously with a slew of events that revolve around the movie.

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Groundhog Day / Events / Animals / Winter Festivals / Pennsylvania Travel / → All Tags

How To Attend This Year's Groundhog Day Festivities In Punxsutawney

Bill Murray is definitely showing his age since his appearance in the movie Groundhog Day, but the true hero of the holiday is Punxsutawney Phil; even without plastic surgery he’s looking great. Sure the holiday seems a little silly, but why not check it out in person to truly decide. We’re all for an early spring, so it might just be worth attending this year’s events on February 2.

If you want to rub elbows with Punxsutawney Phil it’s essential that you get to Gobbler’s Knob—that’s where his house is—as early as possible. Admission and parking are free, but the place opens up at 3:00am. There’s separate sections for both students and families, as we’re thinking the students probably had drink or two to help them make it through the night.

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Groundhog Day / Tourism Boards / VisitPA / → All Tags

Groundhog Day Report: It Will Be An Early, Viral Spring

Not that the real Groundhog Day can ever live up to the sliver screen version, but every year Punxsutawney Phil and 20,000 g-hog fans gather to see if global warming is for real this year. Good news for winter haters, reports out of Pennsylvania say Phil did not see his shadow this morning and printemps will be arriving early.

As for Visit PA, they went over the top with the G-hog Day promos this year. Check out Ground Hog Crossing if you want to hear the complex tale of Groundhog and Shadows plight across the country. We have embedded one episode above, you can catch the rest here, though in our opinion, VisitPA would have been more successful if they commissioned a stop motion animation special and posted it online (kind of like Rudolph). This Groundhog and Shadow thing seems way to complex and drawn out. Then again, when your whole tourism year focuses on a marmot at Gobbler's Knob, better milk it, right?

Oh, wow. Looks like not everyone is a fan of G-hog. For an alternate view of Ground Hog day, check out this piece--"Phil has a harem".

Related Stories:
· Groundhog Day [VisitPA.com]
· Groundhog Day [Jaunted]

Groundhog Day / Thrillist / Zoos / → All Tags

Our Groundhog is bigger than your Groundhog

The kids at Thrillist let us know that the real deal in Groundhog predictions can't be found in Pennsylvania, but ironically, can be found at the Staten Island Zoo.

Out on Staten Island it appears Charles G. Hogg, aka Staten Island Chuck, is the real Nostradamus of the rodent world:

Born Charles G. Hogg, Chuck has been kicking Punxsutawney Phil's ass since 1981* -- in a profession where accuracy is everything, he's right 90% of the time (Phil languishes at about 30%).

Besides their groundhog, Pennsylvania is New York's bitch -- and given Phil's statistical inferiority, it's fair to say Pennsylvania's got nothing, period. Except the Steelers.

The Staten Island Zoo opens its gates tomorrow at 7:00AM, and after the ceremony you can have breakfast with Chuck for $10 per person. No word on if Chuck will guess your weight and age at breakfast, stay tuned.

Related Stories:
·   Ground Hog Day [Thrillist]