The rest of the world calls it Groundhog Day. In Central Oregon, we know it as Rock Chuck Day.
For 12 years now, Redmond locals have gathered around their beloved rock chuck statues named after their founders, Frank and Josephine. They celebrate with cake and community.
“It’s kind of that after the holidays, let’s bring the community together for something fun. And so we came up with the Groundhog-slash-Rock Chuck Day,” said Eric Sande, Executive Director of the Redmond Chamber of Commerce.
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Unlike the Groundhog Day tradition, summer is coming if Frank sees his shadow. And the rock chucks saw their shadow, so according to them, summer is on its way.
A little further north, another voice is chiming in on the predictions.
Filbert the Beaver — also known as Stumptown Fil — made his prediction at the Oregon Zoo in Portland.
And like the famed Punxsutawney Phil, Filbert is predicting six more weeks of winter.
It’s Filbert’s third year making the annual zoo prediction and zoo staff admits he’s not the most accurate meteorologist they’ve seen.
