South Bruce Peninsula’s mayor says they had a large crowd this morning as Wiarton Willie predicted an early spring.
Jay Kirkland says the famous groundhog did not see his shadow at the Wiarton Arena, which according to legend, winter will be ending early.
“It was a great big crowd, I think it had to be the biggest ever,” says Kirkland. “Willie predicted the early spring so everyone was quite happy about that because of all this snow we have been having.”
He adds the event being held on a Sunday this year helped bring out a large crowd.
“There was a lot of kids and families and people just enjoy coming out for the fireworks that started around 7 a.m. and it was great to see. The streets were full of cars and the parking lot was full of the people where we had the prediction at the site of the new town hall. Everything just went off great, it was nice to see all the smiling faces,” says Kirkland.
He says the event, which has been running for over 60 years, is a nice way to celebrate mid-winter.
“People just love something to do, get out of the house. They have been locked in their house for these snow storms for the last two weeks, it is a homecoming,” says Kirkland.
The town also held festivities today including a trackless train, a video game trailer, horse drawn wagons, and a photo booth.
