Punxsutawney Phil gets Elixir of Life at 2025 Groundhog Picnic
The annual Groundhog Picnic was held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, this past weekend, and Countdown to Groundhog Day was there!
Occurring on September 13th, 2025, the Groundhog Picnic is a tradition that, supposedly, dates back almost as long as Punxsutawney’s Groundhog Day tradition. Originally, however, the groundhog was the meal, and not the guest at the event.
The picnic is held at Gobbler’s Knob, the same location where Phil’s annual Groundhog Day prediction takes place. Lunch (hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob) and dinner (steak, baked potatoes) are served at the picnic, cornhole and live music are played, but the big draw of the picnic is Punxsutawney Phil’s annual drinking of the Elixir of Life.
For those who might have forgotten, canonically, there has only ever been one Punxsutawney Phil, since at least the late 1880s. The way that that is possible is Phil’s annual sipping of a magical elixir that extends his life.
After lunch was complete, the Groundhog Club Inner Circle took the stage around 4:15 PM, introduced themselves and their roles and nicknames, and gave up update on Groundhog Day related events, including news that the new zoo at the Gobbler’s Knob Visitor Center is almost complete. Once open, it will house Phil and Phyllis’ recently born groundhog twins, Sunny and Shadow, while Phil and Phyllis will remain at Phil’s Burrow which is attached to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. Additionally the footprint of Gobbler’s Knob will be expanded, as this past year there were too many visitors on Groundhog Day for all of them to fit on the property.
After those updates were given, the big moment arrived. Phil was brought out, as well as a barrel containing the magical elixir. It was explained that for every sip of the potion that Phil drinks, he is granted an approximate seven years of additional life. The crowd was asked to help count how many sips Phil would take.
A straw connected to the barrel was then brought to Phil’s mouth, and he happily drank from it. It was determined that he took nine sips, indicating that he had been granted, roughly, an additional 63 years of life.
Famously, or perhaps infamously, only Phil gets the elixir. Neither Phyllis, nor any of Phil’s past wives, have ever been allowed to sip from it. Similarly, the new children, Sunny and Shadow, were not given the opportunity to extend their lives.
While Groundhog Day brings in crowds of the tens of thousands (see previous discussion of there being too many people to fit at Gobbler’s Knob this past year) the crowds for the picnic are much smaller and intimate. There were probably less than 500 people in attendance.
All in all, the event was a great success and the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
Here’s to 63 additional years of life, Punxsutawney Phil! Perhaps next year, you can spread some of that immortality around.
You can watch the ceremony at the video below.
Tags: groundhog picnic, punxsutawney, Punxsutawney Phil