Punxsutawney Phil has a rival furry forecaster in Jessup.
As a spin on the longtime Groundhog Day tradition in Western Pennsylvania, Jessup will hold its own ceremony this weekend, with a 4-year-old ferret named Jessup Giuseppe serving as the town’s mammal meteorologist. The inaugural Jessup Groundhog Day ceremony will be at 8 a.m. Sunday at Station Park on Church Street, but rather than look for his shadow, Jessup Giuseppe will choose between grapes, said Mike McAndrew, owner of the Three Saints Barber Shop & Shave Parlor at 401 Church St. and one of the event’s 15 “founding fathers.”
“We’re not going to disclose all the magic just yet — mostly because we’re not 100% sure,” McAndrew said laughing. “It’s going to be something involving red grapes and white grapes, and he’s going to be staged upon an oak wine barrel.”
Jessup Groundhog Day founding fathers Matt Catanzaro, left, and Mike McAndrew pose for a photo with a plush ferret at the Three Saints Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Jessup. (COURTESY OF MIKE McANDREW)
Jessup Giuseppe hangs out at the Three Saints Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Jessup. (COURTESY OF MIKE McANDREW)
Jessup Groundhog Day founding fathers (left to right) Mike McAndrew, Matt Catanzaro and James Salus pose for a photo with Jessup Giuseppe at the Three Saints Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Jessup. (COURTESY OF MIKE McANDREW)
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Jessup Groundhog Day founding fathers Matt Catanzaro, left, and Mike McAndrew pose for a photo with a plush ferret at the Three Saints Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Jessup. (COURTESY OF MIKE McANDREW)
Giuseppe, their “great prognosticator,” won’t eat the grapes, but he will pick one, he said.
“He will indicate which one he’s favoring, and then he will whisper to our ferret handler, who speaks ‘ferretese,’ as far as I know, and we will read the appropriate matching scroll,” McAndrew said.
The idea originated in McAndrew’s barber chair while he chatted with fellow founding father, co-organizer and event President Matt Catanzaro, who always wanted to visit Punxsutawney for Groundhog Day but never got the chance. They joked about holding their own event in Jessup.
“Everybody’s laughing at me, and I said, ‘I think that’s a great idea. I think we could pull this off,’” McAndrew recalled.
They brainstormed, but they faced one major challenge for Groundhog Day.
“Where do we procure a groundhog?” McAndrew said.
Luckily, McAndrew had a groundhog living under his front porch.
“I waited for him and waited for him, and he popped his head out, and I made a grab for him — and it was like a standoff,” he said. “We both froze, and he bared his teeth at me.”
McAndrew decided he needed to keep his fingers as a barber, so they needed to find a new animal. A friend had a pair of ferrets, and in need of an Italian name that goes well with Jessup, they decided on Jessup Giuseppe, McAndrew said.
With a mascot and name, they opted to hold the event on a Sunday rather than Groundhog Day’s usual Monday tradition because more people will be off work, he said, explaining that although their animal is different, they “still want to have the traditional vibe.”
“There’s something about it that people are drawn to. … It’s part of the magic,” McAndrew said. “We’re going to go with the traditional outfit, the top hats, the tuxedo, the long coats.”
They did run into some Groundhog Day purists, though.
“There’s some people out here, and it’s a very small percent, maybe a half a percent of our engagement online, are just incensed and furious that we’re not using a groundhog,” he said. “That’s part of the fun.”
The event is also a collaboration with local businesses, who will either have a presence at the event or special Jessup Groundhog Day-themed offerings throughout the day, including JAK’s Pub & Eatery, Jessup’s Corner Kitchen, the Eatery by Jessica, Old & Brew, Purely Sinful Sweets and Capra Collina Winery. The Jessup 21st Century Association will give out hot chocolate, and there will be live polka-type music by the Brass Storm, McAndrew said. They will also give away top hats to kids, he said.
JAK’s will host the official after party at 9 a.m., 410 4th Ave.; followed by the after-after party at 1 p.m. at the St. Ubaldo Society Chapel, 310 3rd Ave.
As a longtime borough business owner and Midvalley resident, McAndrew hopes for more events that bring people to Jessup.
“I would always love for Jessup to be a town that you drive to and not through,” he said.
Jessup Council Vice President Curt Camoni, who is also the executive director of the Lackawanna County Visitors Bureau, said it’s a fun, unique, attention-getting event. It’ll bring business to Jessup, sending customers to borough restaurants while also helping the nonprofit St. Ubaldo Society when it hosts its after-after party, he said.
Jessup Groundhog Day is a community effort to support small businesses, and the Jessup 21st Century Association’s inaugural Fall Block Party last year gave the borough a proof-of-concept for events that give people a reason to visit Jessup while also working with small businesses, Camoni said.
“I see this as a fantastic initiative, and I hope that it continues for a long time,” he said, adding, “I bought a great top hat, so I’ve got to get more than one year out of it.”
McAndrew plans to make it an annual event.
For a complete list of participating businesses, visit the Jessup Groundhog Day Facebook page.