Ground Hog Day Celebrated at Palmera Heights RV Park

“Again, Special Guest Never Showed”

A goodly number of La Feria’s finest citizens joined with the folks at the Palmera Heights RV Park in an all-night vigil to await the arrival of the official ground hog invited to the event. The event was, of course, to see if the ground hog could see his shadow here in La Feria on February 2nd– It’s an annual event. Well, he didn’t, because he didn’t show.

This faithful vigil to observe the furry rodent and his shadow has a long history dating back to a European tradition. The deal is: if the ground hog sees his shadow, it will presage how many more weeks of winter we still have to suffer. There is a famous ground hog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania that gets national attention each year as the nation awaits his arrival, and to see if he sees his shadow. “He probably showed there–but, not our invited guest in La Feria,” lamented Louise Athon. Louise is the president of the Palmera Heights Ladies’ Club that organizes the vigil each year.

“Punxsutawney Phil is fine for the folks in Pennsylvania,”she said, “but, we wanted our own Rio Grande Valley shadow event.” The disappointed group is not discouraged she continued: “We are already making plans for next year.”

However, all was not lost for the attendees. The industrious cooks in the club put out a fabulous Soup, Salad and Dessert luncheon in the park’s club house. It is open to the public each year and serves to raise funds for the park’s other activities and charities. That made it all worthwhile for the folks who came to await the special guest, who never showed.

This event is open to the public. If you missed the fun of this year’s Ground Hog Day celebration, just remember February 2, 2017 and head for the Palmera Heights RV park for a good time.