Kyle Putt / The Bucknellian

On Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, at 7:22 am, Punxsutawney Phil declared that there would be six more weeks of winter. That’s the information everyone knows— at least it’s what the newspapers and Instagram Reels would cover. But some Bucknell students got to know the true Groundhog Day Experience by driving the 2.5 hours from Bucknell to Punxsutawney to see Phil in person. We were able to learn a lot from the experience, with Elio Dzhurbiy ’28 going as far as to say, “everyone says that America is the melting pot of the world. What they are referring to is Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.”

The overall consensus seems to be that Groundhog Day should continue to be a once in a lifetime experience. Many of the Bucknell students who went were motivated by the spontaneous decision to make the most of being closest to the ceremony as we may ever be. Mandy Kaylor ’25 said, “I figured it’s my last semester at Bucknell, why not!” She “doesn’t feel the need to go back for a second time” but is really glad she went. Tessa Foley ’25 said, “personally 10/10 experience” but “maybe once is enough.” My group completely agreed, with Ashleigh Marmer ’25 exclaiming, “having watched Groundhog Day reporting since I was little, it was really cool to be there in person. That being said, I don’t know if I’d go back again.”

If we all enjoyed our time so much, with Marmer going on to say “it was a core memory for me while I have been in college,” why don’t we want to go back? Well, allow me to tell our stories and explain the epic highs and lows of the Groundhog Day experience to see if you would want to make the trek to Gobbler’s Knob yourself one day. 

Prior to planning this trip, I had never considered how many people go to see the ceremony in person. Turns out it’s over 40,000. And as Kaylor pointed out, “it worked out that it was on a Sunday this year. In fact, it was their biggest crowd ever!” Since I am an anxious traveler, I suggested to my group that we leave at 1 am so that we could see Phil with our eyes rather than on a screen. Kaylor’s group left around 3:45 and also had a good view of the show. But I figured if we were going to be so far from the stage that we had to watch it on a TV, we might as well have done that from the warmth of our apartment, not the feels-like-six degrees that it was at Gobbler’s Knob. I also didn’t know prior to this that where the ceremony actually happens isn’t in the town of Punxsutawney, but in the woods at a place called Gobbler’s Knob.

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Attending Groundhog Day in person requires planning. The parking situation in Punxsutawney is intense on the big day. Punxsutawney has a population of about 5,000 people which is the same size as the Lewisburg Borough, so they are not prepared for 40,000 people. We saw people sleeping in their cars when we arrived, parking illegally in street parking and making their own spots in big parking lots like Walmart, which seemed like maybe a little too much for the event. If you’re staying overnight, the trip may not be worth it.

As this day is what the town is known for, they were prepared with bus shuttles to take people from the town to Gobbler’s Knob and it was not hard to get the $5 tickets and drive ten minutes to the location of the ceremony. Once there, we had big decisions to make. Where were we going to stand? With hundreds of people arriving every minute, the decision needed to be made fast. My group stood closer to the stage but to the side, while other Bucknell students opted for the head on view of the stage. I preferred the side view but closer; it made me feel more a part of the ceremony. 

I do not regret getting there so early, but since I arrived at Gobbler’s Knob at 4:43 am and the prognostication didn’t occur until 7:22 am, what did we do? Well, I had never heard about the fabulous entertainment that leads up to Phil’s arrival (which is arguably the best part of the experience). I cannot begin to explain the wonders of 40,000 people chanting “Phil” in unison or Colton Jiorle ’25’s favorite, the shouting of “GROUNDHOOOOOOOOG” together. But there were some fun Groundhog Day parodies of popular songs that I have to share. We had a wonderful rendition of the Rattlin’ Hog, Josh Dewey ’25’s favorite, “Ho ro, the rattlin’ hog, the hog from Punxsutawney-o, rare hog, the Rattlin’ hog, the hog from Punxsutawney-o”. We also had a reimagining of Journey’s hit Don’t Stop Phil-ieving “Just a small town hog, living in Gobbler’s Knob.” These wonderful songs led to fireworks at 6:30 before “the top hats” arrived.

I also had no idea there were so many men in top hats in the “inner circle” of the Groundhog Club. About twenty of these men came on stage and introduced themselves with their weather-related nicknames before we could even see Phil. But when the magical moment happened, it was just like the TV: Phil was wondrous. Only with us for a few moments, everyone was so excited to see him. What we had been waiting for was finally here!

But it was hilarious that as soon as Phil saw his shadow and pronounced six more weeks of winter, the crowd booed and herded to the gates to get on the shuttle back to town. The shuttle back was an absolute disaster with little to no operational planning that left many to walk the two miles back to town (my group included). 

Barely able to feel our fingers and toes as we walked back to town—with Dzhurbiy saying “I’m so cold, I think I lost my pinkie toe”—we reflected on our experience with Phil. As Bryce Merry ’25 summed up perfectly, “I’d say it was very cold, very fun, and very much a one time experience.”

Morgan Haros ’25 also was struck by the cold and surprisingly fun pre-Phil entertainment: “even though we had no sleep and it was really cold, the entertainment on stage was so much fun. There were plenty of funny songs about groundhogs, Governor Shapiro came and the fireworks were amazing.” We were left hoping that after all of that, Phil would be wrong with his six more weeks prediction. 

We know that Phil is only right 40% of the time, but Groundhog Day is not about the answers to the weather. It is about the spirit of Phil and the gathering of people from all around the world for one furry little guy. It is because of Phil’s spirit that we were willing to wake up at 1 a.m. and wear four layers of pants just to stand for hours in the chilling winds of Gobbler’s Knob. It is because of Phil’s spirit that we are glad we took the journey and had this experience. But it is also because we have already experienced the magic of the day that we do not feel the need to return. 

Groundhog Day is what you make of it. As long as you have a plan, dress accordingly and enjoy the hysteria surrounding a singular groundhog, it is worth it. Groundhog Day won’t be on a weekend again until 2030, but we were back on campus by noon, so if you care about the Groundhog Day spirit, you could even be back in time for afternoon classes next year!