Forget Punxsutawney Phil, the District is relying on its own groundhog from now on — the famous Pennsylvanian’s brother, Potomac Phil.
Or perhaps “Taxidermy Phil” is more apt. At the city’s first Groundhog Day celebration Thursday morning, the supposed Potomac woodchuck stood strangely still. Turns out, it’s tough to find the wild animal not hibernating this time of year, so organizers of the event substituted a stuffed version for the real thing.
And instead of judging the weather by whether or not Phil saw his shadow, D.C. Councilman Jack Evans and the Dupont Festival crew gathered around the stiff replica in their top hats to “listen” for Phil’s prediction.
Get ready for six more weeks of winter, Evans said to a crowd of about 100, echoing Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction earlier this morning farther north. Evans then proclaimed the day “D.C. Groundhog Day.”
Hopefully they’ll have a more flexible groundhog next year, lead organizer Aaron DeNu said.
