Balzac Billy is the "Prairie Prognosticator", a man-sized groundhog mascot who prognosticates weather on
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...
. He lives in
Balzac, Alberta
Balzac is a hamlet in Rocky View County, which is in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is located immediately west of Queen Elizabeth II Highway, at the intersection with Highway 566, north of Calgary cit ...
, 8 km north of
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
According to the legend of
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...
, the groundhog's behavior is a way of forecasting the weather. If the groundhog sees his shadow, it will mean that winter is to continue for six more weeks.
The original groundhog created by Merle Osborne was replaced and the mascot was created by Calgary radio station
CFAC program director Jim Kunkel in the late 1970s.
In 2019, Balzac Billy predicted an early spring.
In 2022, Balzac Billy predicted six more weeks of winter.
See also
*
Buckeye Chuck
*
Fred la marmotte
Fred la marmotte is a Canadian groundhog located in near Percé, Quebec who predicts weather on Groundhog Day.
According to the tradition of Groundhog Day, if the groundhog sees his shadow then spring will be delayed; if he does not see his sha ...
*
General Beauregard Lee
*
Punxsutawney Phil
*
Shubenacadie Sam
*
Staten Island Chuck
*
Stormy Marmot
*
Wiarton Willie
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.balzacbilly.com/
Holiday characters
Canadian mascots
Fictional characters from Alberta
Groundhog Day