20th Malverne Groundhog Day Ceremony is Monday

Malverne is gearing up for their 20th annual Groundhog Day celebration.

At 7 a.m. Monday, the community will gather at the gazebo in Reese Park to see if we will have six more weeks of winter.

The celebration draws hundreds every year and features a petting zoo, music, a poster contest, and more.

A reception is set to follow the celebration at Crossroads Farm at 8 a.m. The public is invited for breakfast and coffee.

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This is the 20th annual celebration in Malverne which began as a way to bring the community some recognition.

“The editor of the Malverne Times, Barry Manning, and I got together and wanted to do something that would be fun and bring some good publicity into Malverne,” former Malverne Mayor Joseph Canzoneri said, according to the Malverne Herald. “We invited all dignitaries from surrounding communities, wore high hats, and created the event. It was became a very well-received tradition.”

Malverne Mel and Staten Island Chuck hold a calculated 56 percent accuracy of predicting the weather, compared to Holtsville Hal’s 60 percent and ahead of Punxsutawney Phil’s 44 percent, according to Newsday.

Malverne Mel predicted an early spring last year.

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