Without a groundhog, it’s difficult to celebrate Groundhog Day. The organizers of the yearly festival in Milltown are once again faced with this conundrum.
Due to the lack of a furry creature to hunt for a shadow, the little borough in Middlesex County had to postpone its Groundhog Day celebration for the fourth year in a row.
That’s the word from the Milltown Wranglers, the club that organized the event.
The Wranglers reported Friday night on Milltown Mel’s Facebook page that they had not been able to locate a suitable successor for their local groundhog, Milltown Mel, who passed away just before Groundhog Day in 2022.
Since there was no groundhog available to replace Mel, the borough’s 2022 ceremony had to be canceled. Then, according to Milltown Mel’s managers, efforts to recruit a replacement struck a roadblock for two years in a row due to stringent state rules on the use of groundhogs.
Thus, the 2023 and 2024 celebrations were called off. The 2025 event, which was supposed to happen on Sunday, February 2, has now experienced the same situation.
The organizers stated on Facebook that it is now illegal for us to legally obtain a groundhog in New Jersey. We have been putting a lot of effort into changing that statute with state Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, but that hasn’t happened yet. We are unable to continue our yearly celebration until that adjustment takes place.
The group expressed hope that the state restrictions will be revised in time for Groundhog Day to return the following year.
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Len Melisurgo
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You can contact Len Melisurgo on X at @LensReality or at [email protected].
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