HOPE — While Bartholomew County’s annual Groundhog Day won’t take place in Hope, the event will still feature Hope – only in a different way.
Hope is the name of another groundhog who is the understudy for Grubby, a woodchuck that has been the focus of the annual folklore event near the grandstand of the Hope Town Square since 2015.
Hope and her sister, Faith, were born last spring and are residing with Grubby at UTOPIA Wildlife Rehabilitators, said facility owner Kathy Hershey.
Grubby has to sit out this year because she’s suffering from a dental disease called odontoma, which makes certain mammals feel and act as if they have a respiratory infection, Hershey said.
So the 8:30 a.m. ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 2, will instead take place at UTOPIA, located at 18300 E. County Road 200N.
While a number of officials collectively known as “Grubby’s Groupies” will be part of the ceremony, the event will be off-limits to the general public in accordance with state regulations, Hershey said.
You can still watch a virtual presentation of the Groundhog Day festivities with a Facebook Live feed on the UTOPIA Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Facebook page, Hershey said.
For more on this story, see Sunday’s Republic.
