“It’s always Feb. 2nd and there’s nothing I can do about it,” complains Phil Connors, the character Bill Murray plays in the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day. Trapped in a time warp, Connors desperately tries to escape his fate day after day until he reexamines his life and discovers what really makes him happy.
This year you can relive the movie’s famous scenes in Woodstock, Illinois, 212 miles northwest of Springfield. Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock 24 years ago when the city served as the stand-in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Ever since then the community has organized an annual Groundhog Days celebration.
Read more of freelance travel writer Mary Galligan's story in the Illinois Times.