Groundhog Days: Woodstock festival pays tribute to 1993 film
It's time to party again — and again and again — in Woodstock.
The annual festival, Groundhog Days, celebrates the Harold Ramis film “Groundhog Day,” which was shot in Woodstock in 1992 and released in 1993.
Groundhog Days in Woodstock begins with the Awakening of the Groundhog at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, when Woodstock Willie makes an appearance on the balcony of the Woodstock Opera House.
The six-day celebration continues with a range of activities such as the Groundhog Day Dinner Dance, which is held in the Woodstock Moose Lodge where the bachelor auction and dance scenes in the movie were shot. There's Groundhog Bowling on Saturday, held at Wayne's Lanes, which served as the bowling alley in the film. The fun includes the Drink to World Peace at the Public House on Tuesday, walking tours of the filming sites in Woodstock on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, and free showings of the movie Saturday and Sunday at Classic Cinemas Woodstock Theatre, which was the theater featured in the film.
The festival culminates on Tuesday, February 2, with the Groundhog Prognostication at 7:07 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, on the Woodstock Square.
“The holidays are behind us and spring is still months away. Groundhog Day in Woodstock is just a chance to have a little fun in the middle of winter,” said Rick Bellairs, Groundhog Days committee member and extra in the movie. “Most of our events are free or a benefit for a civic organization. We have loved watching Groundhog Days grow from a small community event to this celebration that brings people from across the country to Woodstock, Illinois. Little did we know when the movie was filmed in Woodstock in 1992 that it would have this lasting impact.”
Woodstock was the stand-in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in the movie, which starred Bill Murray as Pittsburgh TV weather forecaster Phil Connors.
Murray's character is sent to Punxsutawney to do a live TV broadcast against the backdrop of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his winter den and predicting either an early spring or the continuation of winter. In the movie, Connors gets stuck in a time loop and experiences that particular Groundhog Day over and over.
According to the legend of Punxsutawney Phil, if it's a cloudy day on Feb. 2 when the groundhog emerges from his den and does not see his shadow it indicates an early spring. If Punxsutawney Phil emerges and sees his shadow because it's sunny, he returns to his den and winter continues for another six weeks.
Other Groundhog Days festival events include Groundhog Trivia, a wine party, a chili cook-off, bags tournament, pancake breakfast, Jim May's “Groundhog Tales,” and a “Making of Groundhog Day” exhibit at the library.
For a complete schedule of events, visit www.woodstockgroundhog.org.