Missed your chance to drink to world peace on Groundhog Day?

You won’t have to wait until February to do so, because Woodstock Groundhog Days organizers are hosting a Halfway to Groundhog Day celebration Aug. 2 – the midway point to the big midwinter festival.

The event is new, and festivities include walking tours from noon to 2 p.m. that day with Bob Hudgins, who was the location manager for the filming of “Groundhog Day” in Woodstock in 1992 and leads tours of filming sites for the cult classic.

There will also be a singalong with the Woodstock Community Choir from 2 to 2:30 p.m., followed by Die Musikmeisters, the polka band that performs on Groundhog Day, from 2:30 to 3 p.m.

But instead of Willie seeing – or not seeing – his shadow, a new groundhog statue will be dedicated at 3 p.m. The drink to world peace will follow.

Woodstock-based artist Erik Blome created the sculpture, which features a groundhog perched on top of a log that doubles as a bench, allowing visitors to sit next to the groundhog.

Woodstock Groundhog Days chair Rick Bellairs said the statue has been a “longtime desire” of Pam Moorhouse, who Bellairs said is one of the original Groundhog Days Committee members.

“As long as I have been involved, she has hoped, suggested, campaigned to have a groundhog statue to commemorate the making of the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ in 1992 in Woodstock, IL,” Bellairs wrote in an email.

Bellairs said the Woodstock Groundhog Days committee is a registered nonprofit organization and is funding the statue. Much of the organization’s support comes from sponsorships from local businesses, Bellairs said.

He said the statue should provide good photo opportunities and “should be fun.”

Blome also has been commissioned to create a sculpture for the Congress Parkway/Exchange Drive roundabout in Crystal Lake.

Bellairs said the Halfway celebration might be a one-off, as there currently are no plans to continue the celebration in future years. The timing worked out with Aug. 2 being a weekend and the dedication of the statue.

While this event is new, it’s not to be confused with Woodstock District 200 Education Foundation’s Half-way to Groundhog Day event in the summer. That event is scheduled for Aug. 7, according to the District 200 Education Foundation website, d200edfoundation.org.

And, in 2024, the furry prognosticator of seasons himself marked the halfway point by announcing an art contest for the 2025 Woodstock Groundhog Days brochure.