Woodstock Willie makes his prediction when Groundhog Days fest returns
Woodstock Willie is one celebrated groundhog, revered for his legendary ability to predict just how long winter will drag on or how quickly spring will sprout.
And like fans of his role model, Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, a featured real-life cast member in Bill Murray's 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” the townspeople make quite a hullabaloo when he makes his appearance each Feb. 2.
Willie's prognostication will be observed at 7 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in the Woodstock Square, capping a four-day festival in his honor.
“We've got a polka band to wake up the crowd, because it's pretty early in the morning,” said Rick Bellairs, chairman of the Woodstock Groundhog Days committee.
“Then we've got a few announcements and a few dignitaries, and then the groundhog. We've got a tree stump where the groundhog is.”
Much like in the movie, filmed in Woodstock in 1992, the crowd will gather to see if the animal sees his shadow.
“He's probably as accurate as any Chicago weatherman when it comes to weather,” said Bellairs. “If he sees it, more winter. No shadow, spring is coming.”
Bellairs, who has headed the event for the last few years, said the making of the movie inspired the founding of Woodstock Groundhog Days.
“A handful of people thought since the movie was made here, we should celebrate Groundhog Day,” said Bellairs.
On hand for the prognostication will be Woodstock Mayor Brian Sager. Also expected are Richard Henzel, the actor who voiced one of the two radio announcers heard in the movie, and Bob Hudgins, who Bellairs said served as the location manager.
Hudgins is scheduled to talk about behind-the-scenes movie details at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Woodstock Opera House.
“Usually he talks about how they found the house they used for a bed-and-breakfast. He'll talk about the puddle Bill Murray steps in over and over - the fun things,” Bellairs said.
The house, now known as the Cherry Tree Inn bed and breakfast, was a private residence in 1992. It will be part of a walking tour of filming sites at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Bellairs said he first got involved in the yearly event as a chili-maker in the chili cook-off, set this year for noon Saturday at the Woodstock Moose Club. Twenty-eight years ago, he was on set during the filming.
“I was an actual extra in the backyard scene. You can get a glimpse of me when Bill Murray walks down the street,” he said. “It was kind of a fleeting moment.”
Willie makes a pre-prognostication appearance at 6 p.m. Thursday inside the Woodstock Opera House for an event called the “Wakening of the Groundhog,” followed by a trivia game at the Stage Left Café.
From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, the Shadowview Brewery presents a craft beer tasting, a new event this year. Tickets for the tasting are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.
A dinner-dance benefiting Moose Charities is set for 6 p.m. Friday in the Woodstock Moose Lodge. Tickets are $20; for the dance only, tickets are $10.
The long weekend also features storytelling, a bags tournament, bingo, wood carving demonstrations, a Saturday night pub crawl, a Sunday morning breakfast and free showings of the movie at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Woodstock Theatre.
The Woodstock Public Library will present a storytime at 5 p.m. Thursday at Stage Left Café. A family fun day with face painting, a balloon artist, games and crafts will be presented from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Mixin Mingle, near the Square.
Groundhog Days will go forward unless winter takes a particularly nasty turn, Bellairs said.
“We've only canceled one time due to heavy snow,” he said. “We got very fortunate last year. We had the polar vortex. Just before Groundhog Days, the weather broke.”
Woodstock Groundhog Days festival
When: Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 30 through Feb. 2
Where: Most events are in and around the Woodstock Town Square
Admission: Free for most events; ticketed events include dinner dance, beer tasting, pub crawl and family fun day
Details and schedule: woodstockgroundhog.org and realwoodstock.com, or (815) 334-2620