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Although generally a mild winter so far for Chester County, the Commonwealth’s most famous groundhog predicted Friday that an early Spring would come this year.<\/p>\nAlthough generally a mild winter so far for Chester County, the Commonwealth’s most famous groundhog predicted Friday that an early Spring would come this year.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania\u2019s very own world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring after not seeing his shadow this morning at Gobbler\u2019s Knob in Punxsutawney \u2014 marking the 21st time Phil has not seen his shadow during the 138-year-old tradition.<\/p>\n
Governor Josh Shapiro\u00a0and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)\u00a0Secretary Rick Siger\u00a0were in Punxsutawney this morning, for the second year in a row, as Phil made his annual prediction. The Governor and his Administration understand the importance of the travel and tourism industry, which\u00a0serves as a powerful economic engine in every corner of the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo shadow appeared this morning and Punxsutawney Phil indicated that all signs point to an early spring,\u201d said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to share this news with the tens of thousands who make the trek to Gobbler\u2019s Knob each year and to the millions more who await Phil\u2019s prediction from around the globe. The Groundhog Day festivities are an excellent example of the Shapiro Administration\u2019s commitment to boosting the tourism industry, which creates good jobs, strengthens businesses, and attracts more people to call our Commonwealth home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The annual event dates to 1887 when a group of groundhog hunters first dubbed themselves \u201cThe Punxsutawney Groundhog Club\u201d and proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil to be the one-and-only weather prognosticating groundhog. Since then, thousands of people gather each February 2 to watch the groundhog emerge. According to the holiday folklore, if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. Should he not see his shadow, Phil promises an early spring.<\/p>\n
This year, more than 30,000 visitors celebrated Phil\u2019s prognostication in-person with live music, hot beverages, and fireworks for all to enjoy. Millions more tuned in to the livestream on visitPA.com<\/a> and related social media channels.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that wraps up the best holiday of the year, Groundhog Day! On February 2, we had one of the largest crowds in Groundhog Day history. Our fellow trekkers enjoyed the stage show, fireworks, and seeing Phil\u2019s prognostication,\u201d said Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Thomas A. Dunkel. \u201cWhether an early spring or six more weeks of winter, everyone had a great time. Punxsutawney hosts the only worldwide holiday with one destination. If you missed it, come to Gobbler\u2019s Knob, have a great time and check it off your bucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Groundhog Day celebration is just one of the many unique experiences the Pennsylvania Tourism Office is proud to share on visitPA.com<\/a> and its corresponding social media channels. The Office also encourages those looking for their next celebration or trip to grab a copy of the\u00a02024 Pennsylvania Travel Guide<\/a>, an annual guide full of new ideas on how to explore and learn more about Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \u201cSpring it shall be, which allows travelers to set their sights on botanic gardens, long hikes, and gravel biking,\u201d said Department of Community and Economic Development Deputy Secretary of Tourism Carrie Fischer Lepore. \u201cPennsylvania\u2019s outdoor destinations, including our 124 free state parks, countless golf courses, and nature preserves offer limitless options for an early spring.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although generally a mild winter so far for Chester County, the Commonwealth’s most famous groundhog predicted Friday that an early Spring would come this year. Pennsylvania\u2019s very own world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring after not seeing his shadow this morning at Gobbler\u2019s Knob in Punxsutawney \u2014 marking the 21st time Phil has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3912,8580,10405,1731],"class_list":["post-34884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","tag-groundhog-day","tag-punxsutawney-phil","tag-spring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34885,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34884\/revisions\/34885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}