Episode published: Friday 01/26/2024
Michael: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Every Day is Groundhog Day (Except for the Days When It's Not), the one and only podcast devoted to the holiday, Groundhog Day. I'm your host, Michael. On the day that this episode drops, Groundhog Day 2024 is only one week away. I hope you're all excited and have figured out what your holiday plans are.
This week, PETA sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club suggesting that they replace Punxsutawney Phil with a giant coin saying that keeping Phil captive at the library and using him as a weather-predicting prop is not humane. This is not the first time that PETA has suggested abandoning having a live groundhog in Punxsutawney or at other prominent Groundhog Day events. In fact, when Milltown Mel passed away a few years back, PETA suggested that Milltown replace Mel with an animatronic groundhog, or a person in a groundhog suit, or a tree, and not another live animal. As a matter of fact, there is a large portion of Groundhog Day forecasters that are not actually living animals and there are a number of reasons this may be the case. Sometimes, it's for ethical reasons; sometimes it's because of the inability to get a living groundhog or alternative animal.
Well, today we're going to be talking about one of those non-living Groundhog Day forecasters, Okanagan Okie, a stuffed plush marmot who has been providing a Groundhog Day prediction since 2022 at Allan Brooks Nature Centre in Vernon, British Columbia. That's right, not only is Okie the first non-living Groundhog Day forecaster we've focused on on this show, but Okie is also our first international prognosticator hailing from Canada. The people at Allan Brooks Nature Centre use Okie as a stand-in for the actual living marmots who can be found on their grounds but who are still hibernating on Groundhog Day. On February 2nd, Okie is brought out in front of a crowd at the centre and his handler and the crowd help decide whether Okie has seen his shadow or not. In order to discuss Okie further, I have an interview with the centre manager from Allan Brooks Nature Centre, Cheryl Hood. Enjoy.
Michael: Okanagan Okie is a stuffed plush marmot at Allan Brooks Nature Centre in Vernon, British Columbia in Canada who has been providing a weather prediction on Groundhog Day since 2022. I'm here with the centre manager from Allan Brooks Nature Centre, Cheryl Hood, to talk about Okie. So, welcome Cheryl.
Cheryl Hood: Thank you! Thank you for inviting me.
Michael: Yeah, thanks for being here. So, Okie is a relative newcomer to the prognosticating game. Could you maybe give a little bit of background on Okie and how the prediction ceremony began?
Cheryl Hood: Yeah, we thought about Okanagan Okie earlier, during the beginning of the pandemic, and thought about a way to get people out and come. We are located, Allan Brooks Nature Centre is a nature centre in Vernon, we have nine acres on the site. So, we just wanted a way, specifically in the wintertime, for families to get up and get out so that they could come up and see and have some fun. We have a fire, we have drinks, then also we just talk about Okie.
A lot of this was because as a nature centre, we're focused on education, so we really wanted to educate people about the marmot specifically. We have a whole bunch of colonies of yellow-bellied marmots at the centre and we thought it was a great opportunity to talk about them, they're all in hibernation at the moment, as most groundhogs are right now. And it's, again, just so people will recognize that there are other things to do within the Okanagan Valley, especially around Vernon, and educate people about the marmots, the nature, and the ecology and why they are. They are sleeping but during the summer months, this is what they're up to.
Michael: So, you said there is a bonfire, there are also drinks. I was watching some of the earlier predictions and I think, is there like, coffee? Hot chocolate? Cider? Is that right?
Cheryl Hood: Yeah, so we'll have hot chocolate, coffee, and apple cranberry cider, we'll bring cookies up or Timbits in for the people to munch and sit around the fire. When we do the announcement, the mayor of Vernon joins us and he's the one that actually does the pronouncement on what's going on as well as this year, our MLA is planning to join us as well to also be a part of our event. It's for people to come up, have fun, enjoy the view from where we are, and again, get out close to home and just have fun. They can wander the paths and do what they want and watch and see and just learn what we have.
Michael: Great. I had originally misidentified Okie as a living marmot and that's part of what brought about this conversation today. Someone had reached out, I believe your communications director, to let me know it's actually a stuffed marmot. Was there ever the intention of having one of the live marmots or because they are hibernating at this point, it was always planned to be a stuffed marmot?
Cheryl Hood: It's always been planned to be a stuffed marmot, partially in order to ensure the health of the animal anyway. They need to go into hibernation, there's a specific routine. We are not, nor do we have the facilities to house a marmot in that capacity and bring them out. The other thing is that as a nature centre, we really do believe that you should see them in their natural habitat and really not bring them out for a short minute for people to look and see. They're cute and we love them, but it's just... Groundhog Day and predicting what the weather is, though it is a 300-year-old tradition, it's a way for people to know that there is a reason why marmots will do it but as a stuffed toy. We just don't believe in bringing out and using a real animal, again because of the stress, how to keep it healthy and ensure that... You know, they belong in the wild for us. People can come up in the summer months and watch them play, this is just an opportunity for people to have a good time and see if winter is going to leave or continue with us for a period of time.
Michael: So, how many, what are the crowds like? I know that this is going to be your third year, right?
Cheryl Hood: It is. Our crowds are probably around 50 to 75 people. The groundhog events we have midmorning, we're not the traditional of the groundhog at sunrise, so people are able to come up. But it's also midweek and because we're still very new and people are wondering, should I, shouldn't it? Kids are in school, parents are at work. So, we do get the people up but one of the things we're also doing to engage more of the community is that we livestream it so people can tune in for the prediction and have a conversation and then that's sort of where we go with that.
We're hoping to build it. This year we have a little bit of a collaboration with the Vernon Winter Carnival, which is a ten-day event in Vernon. It's all over, totally different events, different fun stuff. So, we're part of that and they're opening day is February 2nd so again, it's one way for us to bring the people up, get them outside. Winter here is not the same as winter in a lot of other areas. Some days it's colder but right now it's 0º so it's just, again, get people out, get people to enjoy and really see that there are opportunities and believe that we're going to have an early spring, which is what everyone hopes for, except the ski hills.
Michael: Gotcha. And yeah, that was going to be a question I had. What is the weather like generally there in the winters? If you do have an early spring, what's that, kind of, like?
Cheryl Hood: Early spring for us really starts moving at the end of February, that's really when we start getting those warm temperatures and the snow really starts melting. But we, on average, stay about -5º, -10º is sort of the weather. Snow is dependent. We have a huge dump right now but it's currently raining and melting. So, we have that. We also hit the -40ºs for a couple of days earlier in January.
Michael: Wow.
Cheryl Hood: But usually it's -5º, -10º throughout. We'll get a fair good dump of snow and again, we just deal with it, shovel it away, and then it's melted. The yellow-bellied marmots actually start coming out at the beginning of March, so they're starting to come out and forage for whatever they can find that's starting to green up, and then we start seeing them full force by the mid to end of March. By then, there's usually no snow except for what's up on the mountains and the ski hills.
Michael: Next year will actually be, I guess the first time you would have the forecast on the weekend so I imagine you would probably have more people coming next year. But you said there is a festival that you're tying into?
Cheryl Hood: It's called the Vernon Winter Carnival. Yeah, so that's a festival that's been going on for a long time within the community. Groundhog Day just happens to fall where that timing was. Sometimes, the past two years we weren't with the winter carnival because we were pre-that. But again, we're our own event and using a bit of the Winter Carnival splash to say, hey this is also happening. For the weekend event, we're planning to make it bigger, get more people up and do some more things, and not just have the prediction but maybe have some entertainment and have people come up and enjoy the day.
Michael: Yeah. So, I saw that I think the first year you had someone actually play a song, I believe, on a drum. Did you have that last year or anything like that? Do you plan on having anything like that this year?
Cheryl Hood: We really do hope that we are going to be getting a drummer again this year. The one in the first year was a board member who was able to do the drumming Song of Welcome. Right now, we're trying to work with our local Syilx community to get a drummer up, but we have to follow certain protocols with them to make sure that we work in cooperation and collaboration with them.
Michael: I noticed that both of the ceremonies were outdoors the last two years. Is that the plan again this year and if there was snow or some sort of inclement weather, do you have the facilities to have it indoors?
Cheryl Hood: People are pretty hardy around here so people will show up for stuff. We do not have the space at the centre, we have an interpretive building, but it's really not designed for a capacity of more than 15 people at a time within it, going through and looking at the displays. We do have the Grasslands Theatre which is where we do it. Unless we're getting torrential rain for some reason or we're in the midst of a full blizzard, then we would have to postpone it and maybe take it someplace and just do a live stream of it in a location where we're not getting bombarded, but having the public up would not necessarily be something that people want to do. We always would leave it up to people if they wanted to come; I don't think we'd ever cancel the event. Even at -40º, as much as people grumbled, they were still outside doing stuff. But again, everyone knows it's going to come, and it'll be nicer as the week goes on.
Michael: So, could you talk a little bit more about the nature centre itself? I know you said you have trails, you have an interpretive building, is that what you said?
Cheryl Hood: So, Allan Brooks Nature Centre came into being in 2000. It was an idea that came in around 1997 but the building and everything else opened officially by 2000. We are located in an old weather station, an Environment Canada and climate change weather station that they had. They decommissioned it in the ‘80s and then it just sort of sat there. So, a group of people in the local community thought it was a great place. We sit on a knoll overlooking the valley, so they worked with Environment Canada to get a lease in place so then it was just the development of the centre.
Our outdoor spaces, we're situated on nine acres of land. We have a path that circles the centre, which walks you through the grasslands that we are actually situated in, in the Okanagan Valley. We have interpretive signs that explain what plants you're looking at, what you're seeing. There is a marmot city down there as well where you'll see a whole bunch of marmots and a bunch of rocks so people can walk and look and see that. And then we have a grassland pond which usually would dry up in the summer months, but we do keep it full as an educational tool for us where people are able to learn and see what it looks like. It's also the water source for a lot of the wild animals around here so we get the coyotes, the deer, and other animals that come up and drink from it. We have a sundial up here where people can come and see and figure out what time of day it is up in the centre. And then you can just wander around. You can walk across a path, you can come up and see in the summer months, a Great Basin gopher snake, you can see yellow-bellied racers, so we have a lot of snakes up here, reptiles, the furry animals.
When you come back up to the centre, we have a small classroom that we have where we host summer camps and other events or workshops in that. We have a picnic shelter where people can look at the view of Okanagan Lake from where we are. The Interpretive Centre itself has two separate rooms. One is the Discovery Room, so it's a place where you can go through, wander, and see and learn about the animals, we have some taxidermy, we have bald eagles, and we actually have a marmot den display there as well so people can see and get an idea of what the marmot dens are like. People come up just to watch the marmots. We also have a beehive in the centre as well that you can watch the bees bring in the pollen for honey and stuff. Again, it's all educational. We have a turtle and snake for people to look at as well, live. So, they can go through that and learn about that.
The other room is a four-walled mural that takes you through the ecosystems of the north Okanagan grasslands and the alpine. So, you start at the marshlands, you move to the grasslands, you get up to subalpine and alpine; the four regions that we have in the area where we are located. That's really what it is. You can go through, look, and guess and find all sorts of interesting creatures that belong in those areas, and we can find them by searching. We even have some bats in there where you have to– You don't see them unless you know where to look for them. Again, it's just about people and educating them about the environment.
At the front of the centre, if you leave the building, we have interpretive signs up there talking about how the valley came to be through glaciers, this area was volcanic as well at one point. So, you can just sort of see and learn about how the area was formed and what you see. As well as, you'll also see from that point, the three lakes that Vernon is connected to. So, you'll see Kalamalka Lake, you'll see Swan Lake, and you'll see Okanagan Lake. So, you can just look through the valley and see from that standpoint. The cool thing is that Kalamalka Lake is a turquoise lake in the summer months.
Michael: Oh wow. That's pretty.
Cheryl Hood: Yeah, it is pretty stunning. So, that's sort of the centre. Again, we also have a natural playground for kids to play on. We worked with a local company to get some logs that we sourced locally, and they built this playground, a pier, stumps, things to crawl through, all sorts of that, as well as sensory bins for kids to take out wood, pinecones, and stuff and play with it in the play area.
Michael: That sounds pretty cool. Is there any sort of fee to get there? Is it donations?
Cheryl Hood: So, we are by donation. The organization from the board down to the staff, we all believe that we want it to be accessible to all. So, if someone comes up and gives just $0.25, that's amazing, that's what they can do. Someone can come up and give us $50, which has happened in the past. So, it's not what you can give, it's what you can take away from what we do. Granted, as a not-for-profit, we do need revenue so hopefully people will donate the suggested donation of $5. But again, it's what they can and are able to afford just to come up and sit and enjoy and just be and learn.
Michael: Is there any sort of yearly membership?
Cheryl Hood: Yeah, as a not-for-profit, we do sell memberships. So again, we try and keep the memberships affordable. A senior membership is $30, an adult membership is $35, and a family membership for four is $60. Again, it's just trying to be affordable for people. The family membership gives you 15% off summer camps and a couple of other things for the youth. All memberships give you 10% off in our nature shop and some of the activities we do on-site, some of the events we do on-site, they'll get a discount on that as well, just as an incentive to become a member.
Michael: Great. I think that's mainly everything I had. Is there anything I missed or anything you wanted to mention?
Cheryl Hood: No, I think that's great, and I really appreciate that you're taking the time to sit and talk to us and learn a bit about Allan Brooks and our little Groundhog Day event that we do. We're hoping that it expands to become something a little bit bigger and more exciting but we, right now, are quite happy with the slow growth of what it is. Again, it's just awareness of the environment, awareness of the marmots, and awareness of coming up and having fun and enjoying. Hopefully, Okie will be correct in his prediction this year so that people can start planning for the spring and summer months.
Michael: And what time is that ceremony?
Cheryl Hood: The prediction is at 10:00 AM but people can start arriving shortly after 9:00-9:30 and they can get their hot chocolate. There are some speeches, then we'll do it and then we'll sit and talk and chat with people around us.
Michael: Okay, sounds great. I'll definitely be checking out the livestream. Thanks again for talking to me.
Cheryl Hood: You bet, thank you very much.
Michael: Thank you.
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And that's the interview. Thanks again to Cheryl Hood for speaking with me about Okie and the Allan Brooks Nature Centre. Over at CountdownToGroundhogDay.com, voting is open for our art contest. Check out the submissions and vote for your favorite, the winners will be announced on Groundhog Day Eve.
As I mentioned at the top of the show, Groundhog Day is next week. We're now tracking over 50 public events. Check out the list and if you can, go support your local forecaster. The Groundhog Day season actually kicks off this weekend with a handful of Groundhog Day forecasters giving their predictions on Saturday, January 27th including Tinicum Tim and Benny the Bass. How do you plan on celebrating the holiday? At my house, we always make groundhog cupcakes, have a groundhog puppet forecasting ceremony in the backyard, and try to watch Groundhog Day, the movie. I'm also planning on making my way out to at least one prognostication ceremony on Groundhog Day. I'd love to know what your Groundhog Day plans are. Send me an email or voice recording to podcast@countdowntogroundhogday.com. And that's it for today.
Music for this show was written by the hibernating Breakmaster Cylinder. Show artwork is by Tom Mike Hill. Transcripts are provided by Aveline Malek at The Wordary.com. If you want to learn more about Groundhog Day visit CountdownToGroundhogDay.com. Any feedback or voice messages can be sent to podcast@countdowntogroundhogday.com. Thanks for listening, talk to you next week.
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Transcribed by Aveline Malek at TheWordary.com