Banff 
Credit: Blue Grass Garden Centre Calgary
While Canada’s best-known weather-predicting groundhogs called for an early spring Tuesday as they delivered their annual forecasts over video due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta’s “groundhog”, Balzac Billy is predicting 6 more weeks of winter.
Balzac Billy is not a real groundhog and is a mascot from the town of Balzac, 24km north of Calgary. Unlike Manitoba Merv, a groundhog puppet from Manitoba, Billy is a gopher or a Richardson Ground Squirrel – a common species in Alberta.
The origins of Balzac Billy can be traced to the 1970s, when Balzac’s then-mayor, Merle Osborne befriended a Richardson Ground Squirrel.
During the next several decades, Balzac Billy would disappear from public life following a number of inaccurate predictions. However, he has made a return in recent years as a mascot for the town, drawing in large crowds every February 2nd.
Usually, Balzac Business Community Association hosts a breakfast following the prediction at Blue Grass Nursery & Garden Centre on groundhog day.
But this year, due to the pandemic, the event was held virtually.
The Balzac Business Community Association and Blue Grass staff shared Groundhog Day with the community for the 18th year via Facebook Live. Emerging from his home in the ground, Balzac Billy called for 6 more weeks of winter.
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