Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press The illustrious Phil Click photo for larger image. More information: For a full schedule of events and other details, visit www.groundhog.org, www.punxsutawneyphil.com or call 1-800-752-PHIL (7445). Related story: Jump into the Mon River for Drowned Hogs Day

The winter holiday we know as Groundhog Day actually is celebrated for a couple days in the event's epicenter of Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The revelry there will start the day before, on Feb. 1, with a full slate of activities, including the crowning of Groundhog King and Queen, the Annual Groundhog Souvenir Show and Sale and the Woodchuck Whittle Carving Show. Evening fun includes the Phil Phest Part Deux rock concert, the Prognosticators Ball and a new fun house and maze at Punxsutawney Christian School called Phil's Shadow Chaser.

Then at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, celebrants will start heading to Gobbler's Knob for the cold wait to see if the groundhog, at dawn, sees his shadow.

If you plan to head to Punxsutawney for this 121st Groundhog Day, nearby hotels probably already are booked. But you can on Thursday night unroll your sleeping bag at the Punxsutawney Area Community Center crash pad for $5, which includes a midnight showing of the "Groundhog Day" movie.

Families have their own viewing area on Gobbler's Knob, where the scene also will be broadcast on the Internet. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, the legend goes, winter will last six more weeks.

The celebration lasts beyond the big moment. The Salvation Army will be serving its Groundhog Pancake Breakfast until 10 that morning, and the Punxsutawney Country Club will be serving a full breakfast buffet until 11 a.m. Other activities will be running throughout the day, including an art show, a scavenger hunt and other children's entertainment.

New this year: A "photo op" where you can take photographs of Phil at 10 a.m. on Barclay Square. At noon, there's an autograph session with him and the top hat-wearing members of the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle.

Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., at least seven pre-registered couples will be married, or have their vows renewed, by Mayor Jim "Snake" Wehrle at Phil's Wedding Chapel at the Civic Center Complex.

At 2 p.m., they'll dedicate the Meteorologist Hall of Fame at the Punxsutawney Weather Center on North Findley Street. The partying again continues into the night with a comedy club, a dance and more.

And there's more to do on Saturday, including the Groundhog Jog, a chicken barbecue and hay wagon tours of town, which is decorated with 32 6-foot-tall Phantastic Phil statues.

Michele Neal, the Punxsutawney Area Chamber of Commerce's Groundhog Day events coordinator, says there's so much going on, lots of out-of-towners and locals come who don't even go to Gobbler's Knob.

Information booths will be manned there and at the local McDonald's Feb. 1 and 2.