Hollywood, Florida: All America City and
Revitalized Beach Destination for Sun-sational Experiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Judy Erickson
Hollywood, Florida Office of Tourism
(954) 921-3478
Email: jerickson@hollywoodfl.org

"DINE & DIP" AT GROUNDHOG DAY ON HOLLYWOOD BEACH

HOLLYWOOD, FL - January 13, 2009 - Revelers at Hollywood’s wackiest annual celebration plan to outdo themselves this year, starting off the Feb. 2nd Groundhog Day festivities with a spaghetti breakfast before taking their traditional ocean plunge around the same time weather-forecasting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts the end of winter.

It's all in good fun, and for a good cause, with proceeds from the 4th annual Groundhog Day on Hollywood Beach benefiting the Hollywood Beach Patrol Competition Team that represents the City of Hollywood in the national lifeguard competition each year.

The celebration will kick off Sat., Jan. 31 with a concert by recording artist-songwriter – and veteran Groundhog Day performer – James Lee Stanley at 8 p.m. at the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort, 101 N. Ocean Drive. Tickets are $10.

Groundhog Day festivities will begin at 6:30 a.m. Mon., Feb. 2 with a spaghetti breakfast at Ocean Alley restaurant, 900 N. Broadwalk at Indiana Street. The $10 cost includes an event T-shirt. A dip in the Atlantic Ocean will follow at 7:30 a.m.

The event also will feature a live TV hookup to Punxsutawney, Pa., groundhog souvenir items, and special appearances by a giant-size version of Punxsutawney Phil and (maybe) Groundhog Day star Bill Murray.

According to the Groundhog Day legend, which dates to the 1800s, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow upon emerging from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If the famous furry forecaster (inexplicably named for England's King Phillip) doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early spring. Thousands of followers from all over the world flock each year to Punxsutawney, where the first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was organized in 1887.

Groundhog Day on Hollywood Beach is the brainchild of Jeff Hansen, the publisher of Cahoots, a quarterly publication in Hollywood, and a longtime visitor to the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney. Five years ago, Hansen formed the Beach Bums Chapter of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which numbers 29 members.

Event organizers promise that this year's local Groundhog Day observance will be bigger and better than ever.

"This event represents the fun-loving nature of Hollywood Beach," said Judy Erickson, Director of Tourism for the Hollywood Office of Tourism (HOT), which co-sponsors the Groundhog Day festivities. "I hope everyone shows up to celebrate our enviable climate and gorgeous beach – and it's all for a good cause, too."

Other event sponsors are Burkhardt Construction, Cahoots Newspaper, the Hollywood Beach Business Association, Hollywood Beach CRA and Ocean Alley.

For more information on Groundhog Day on Hollywood Beach, contact Jeff Hansen at (954) 929-9334 or hlwdcahoot@aol.com.

About Hollywood, Florida
Situated between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Hollywood, Florida, the 2007 All-America City and one of Fodor's 2009 "Best Beaches for Families," is a desirable year-round destination offering more than 5,000 hotel rooms at a variety of hotels, resorts and Superior Small Lodgings. Minutes away from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport and home to Port Everglades, the largest cruise port in the world, Hollywood visitors enjoy seven miles of Blue Wave beaches; a two-and-a-half-mile European-style Broadwalk lined with cafés, restaurants, boutique and full-service hotels and resorts as well as vacation apartments facing the ocean; a revitalized Historic Downtown Hollywood and new ArtsPark at Young Circle; and an array of activities including first-class shopping, waterfront, nature and dining experiences. For more information about Hollywood, FL, contact the Hollywood Office of Tourism at (877) 672-2468 or visit www.visithollywoodfl.org.