Husky News

Around this time of year, most of us get a little restless, longing for warmer temperatures and a chance to enjoy the outdoors again.

But who says we have to wait until the snow melts and the air warms up to have a little fun?

Even if you’re not into winter activities like skiing, sledding, snowshoeing or snowmobiling, this weekend provides a perfect opportunity to cure your cabin fever — Greece’s sixth annual Groundhog Day Festival. Fittingly, it will be held on Groundhog Day, Saturday, Feb. 2, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Greece Town Hall campus off Long Pond Road just north of Latta Road.

The festival is presented by the Greece Chamber of Commerce Erie Canal Committee in conjunction with the town.

Two-year-old Samantha Rasmussen of Hilton gets a kiss from Odin, a sled dog, at the Greece Chamber of Commerce’s Groundhog Day festival at Greece Canal Park on Jan. 27, 2007. KRIS J. MURANTE

It will feature outdoor and indoor activities, including a coloring contest, demonstrations of dog sledding, the Sheriff’s K-9 Unit, martial arts and woodcarving, a pumper display by the North Greece Fire Department, ice fishing, disc golf, putting greens, a bean bag toss, a wheel of chance, wacky relay races with Greece high school sports teams, blood pressure checks, fingerprinting, games and prizes.

Souvenir T-shirts and refreshments will be available for purchase. You can even meet the festival groundhog. The event itself is free and promises to be fun for the whole family, but please leave your pets at home.

The first Groundhog Day Festival was held in 2003, the idea of the late Frank Passero, a member of the GCC Erie Canal Committee and the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

Over the years, attendance has grown from 125 to as high as 1,200. Last year, 750 people chased away the winter blahs at the festival.

For details or to download a coloring contest entry form, go to www.GreeceChamber.org or call (585) 227-7272.

Civic Award nominations due

The deadline for the Greece Chamber of Commerce 2008 Civic Awards — Business Person of the Year, Girlie Goodwin Citizen of the Year and Senior Citizen of the Year — is Thursday, Jan. 31. Nomination forms are available at www.GreeceChamber.org or by calling (585) 227-7272. Recipients will be honored on April 25.