I left WPA for WNC 16 years ago. When I would get home sick I would watch YT videos of Pittsburgh Dad.

In my experience (mid to late 90's) Ground hog day in Punxsy starts at 10p the night before. We have a few drinks at home or a bar then head out to Gobblers Knob. We spend all night standing in the cold drinking and whatnot...listening to music, dancing, howling at the moon and just having fun. In the morning they open the fake tree stump and pull the groundhog out (the one they put in there 20 minutes earlier) and tell us the prediction. By that time you want to go home. Your cold and tired and your buzz has worn off. Maybe you get breakfast then go to bed. It was fun, I remember a lot of people climbing and falling out of trees, maybe that's why they cracked down on drinking. Idk. I would say maybe 2k people, I think it's better attended now and a little more family oriented, but I haven't been there in almost 30 years.