Shapiro to become just 3rd sitting governor to attend Pa.'s Groundhog Day celebration

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will attend the annual Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney on Thursday, becoming just the third sitting governor to ever attend the Feb. 2 event.

Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, is looking forward to joining the “storied Pennsylvania tradition” and the famed Punxsutawney Phil groundhog, according to Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder.

“Across the commonwealth and around the globe, all eyes will be on Phil tomorrow morning — and the governor will be there both to celebrate the Pennsylvania spirit, and to find out how many more weeks of winter there will be,” said Bonder.

This year marks the 137th Groundhog Day celebration in the small Western Pennsylvania town. Thousands gather at the event at Gobbler’s Knob just outside the borough to watch Punxsutawney Phil emerge from his den. According to Pennsylvania Dutch superstition, if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, spring comes early.

The first sitting governor to visit the ceremony was Ed Rendell, D-Philadelphia, in 2003. Gov. Tom Corbett, R-Shaler, visited in 2012.

Although the Groundhog Day festival has run for well over 100 years, the February celebration only attracted about 2,000 people per year during most of its existence, according to the Washington Post.

After the success of the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” the festival exploded in popularity. Today, it attracts 12,000 to 20,000 people if Groundhog Day falls on a weekday and up to 30,000 people if it falls on a weekend, according to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.