Woodstock Willie has had his say.
Crowds gathered in Woodstock Square for the annual groundhog prognostication, despite it falling on a Monday this year.
[ See more photos from Groundhog Day on Woodstock Square ]
With temperatures around 20 degrees for the festivities, the weather was brisk, yet something of a relief from the stretch of single-digit lows that hung around for several days.
Out in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania – the town Woodstock played in the movie – Phil the woodchuck had already had his moment in the sun, er, shade, before Willie’s debut. Phil predicted six more weeks of winter.
But Willie went his own way this year. He did not see his shadow, meaning an early spring.
Willie’s early spring forecast, which marked the third consecutive warm weather prognostication, was met with cheers from the crowd.
Before the prognostication, Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Ned Ryerson in the iconic film, was presented with a key to the city, which he used to tap on the door of the tree stump in which Willie had been wiggling around.
Tobolowsky then shared the forecast with the crowd who had braved the cold to see what the furry prognosticator of seasons had to say.
Tobolowsky shared with the crowd that he checked his Imdb page and officially had been in 100 movies.
“Nothing was like ‘Groundhog Day,’” Tobolowsky said, adding he had finished filming for the movie only to get a call from director Harold Ramis to come back because “‘we’re changing the whole movie.’”
Tobolowsky said Ramis told him that while others were trying to make comedies, “‘We want to talk about people’s life here on the planet earth.’”
Tobolowsky was slated to speak at the Opera House later Monday.
Attendee Laura Balinski, who was at the event with her Lake Villa-based family, said they were “excited he didn’t see a shadow here. We’re looking forward to spring.”
Balinski joked that Willie “is obviously a much better groundhog” than Punxsutawney Phil and is “really in touch with the land.”
Balinski added that she likes “lighthearted whimsy of this event. It really feels like it’s the final iteration of the movie.”
Her brother, Matthew Balinski, said he had never been to Woodstock before but was enjoying its cute downtown. The family tried to incorporate brown into their outfits Monday in honor of Ned Ryerson.
Attendees Katie Noble and Patrick Weck, who came up from downstate Champaign, were glad nobody booed the groundhog.
“I always get upset when people boo him,” Noble said.
Noble said she used to live in rural Missouri and loves groundhogs and other rodents. She said she can relate to groundhogs burrowing in the ground and hibernating.
As for Willie’s verdict, she said Willie wants to be warm at home like everyone else and for her, it’s more about the animal than the verdict.
Noble and Weck said it was their first time coming to the prognostication. They saw the movie at the theater, did a film tour and went bowling.
“I hope he’s right,” Weck said of the early spring prediction but was more excited just to be there than for the verdict.
Willie was also present at a reception Sunday evening, where he took photos with attendees but was also very wiggly during that.
This year, the national animal rights group PETA came out against the use of a real animal for the festivities, suggesting instead a groundhog hologram or robot. But organizers had no plans to change course. No protesters appeared to be present Monday morning.