How do people know you’re from Woodstock? Well, for one thing, you and your neighbors celebrate/observe Groundhog Day for the better part of a month around a four-day festival (Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 this year) packed with activities, not the least of which is the 7 a.m. Feb. 2 Prognostication, when Woodstock Willie gives […]
Woodstock breakfast options multiply for post-Prognostication ByTriciaCarzoli news@thewoodstockindependent.com After many years, the Groundhog Days Committee decided to do away with the “official” pancake breakfast following this year’s Prognostication on Feb. 2. “It was hard to have just one official breakfast after the Prognostication,” Groundhog Days Committee Chairman Rick Bellairs said. “And that is hard when […]
Rockford couple Chuck and Bobbi Smith came to the Groundhog Day Prognostication for the first time this year. “It’s our 57th wedding anniversary,” Bobbi said. “We never thought about it being Groundhog Day, but this is a good way to celebrate.” The couple met when Chuck was a hospital resident and Bobbi was a student […]
When WGN-TV chief meteorologist Tom Skilling came to town, he attracted a host of followers. The weatherman, who is retiring at the end of this month, has been a Midwest staple for 45 years with generations tuning in to him as the gold standard in TV weather forecasting. Opera House Managing Director Daniel Campbell said […]
“Never underestimate the power of the groundhog,” Backdrop owner Gregg Hansen said of the successful retail weekend around Woodstock annual February festival. Groundhog Days provided the city with an opportunity to show off the things it does well to roughly 3,500 people who crowded into the Square last Friday, according to city estimates. “This has […]
Groundhog Day and its movie-inspired festival provide ample opportunity for economic growth in Woodstock, local officials and businesses agree. “This being the 30th anniversary of the film helped,” Real Woodstock marketing manager Melissa McMahon said of this year’s five-day festival. “We noticed an uptick in interaction with social media and websites for both Real Woodstock […]
How can a community festival based on a movie that was released 30 years ago remain so popular that it attracts thousands of people every year? Of course, we’re not talking about just any community – or just any film. “Groundhog Day” has become something of a global cult classic since being filmed in Woodstock […]
Television’s latest loving embrace of Woodstock has come in the form of “John McGivern’s Main Streets” exploration of Woodstock. The destination travel show, a feature of PBS Wisconsin, had the “world premiere” of its segment about Woodstock on the big screen at the Opera House last Thursday night, and a few hundred of us showed […]
“I just wish Harold was still with us, to realize the impact he’s made on Woodstock,” said Bob Hudgins, locations manager for the movie “Groundhog Day,” filmed mostly in Woodstock in 1992. As he looked out at the crowd that had gathered Thursday on the Square for Woodstock’s Groundhog Days ceremonies, Hudgins reminisced about film […]
Groundhog Days is here! With too many activities and events to cram into one day, the five-day celebration provides plenty of opportunities for the community to engage in as many activities as desired throughout the festival. Wednesday night the Welcoming of the Groundhog will be moved indoors because of cold weather. Woodstock Willie now will […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
