Punxsutawney

The custom came with German settlers, who watched for a badger on Candlemas; in Pennsylvania the groundhog stood in. The Punxsutawney event has run since 1887, and the format is fixed: a crowd gathers at Gobbler's Knob in the dark, the Inner Circle in top hats and tuxedos brings out the groundhog around sunrise, and a scroll is read declaring whether he saw his shadow - shadow meaning six more weeks of winter. The 1993 film raised the crowd from about two thousand to as many as forty thousand, in a town of under six thousand. The prediction has no forecasting value and the organisers do not pretend otherwise. The rest of the year the town is quiet, with painted groundhog statues around it.

Highlights

• A pre-dawn gathering at Gobbler's Knob - outside the town.
• The Inner Circle in top hats - reading the scroll at sunrise.
• A custom running since 1887 - brought by German settlers.
• Painted groundhog statues - what remains the rest of the year.

When to go

2 February, arriving in the small hours. A morning.

Practical notes

It happens one day a year and means standing outside for hours in February cold and dark. Parking is remote with shuttle buses. Crowds are far larger than the town. On any other day there is very little here.

Nearby

Pittsburgh is south-west; Cook Forest is north.

Key facts