Groundhog Day is such an important occurrence for the people at Acorn Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation that one party is not sufficient.

Acorn Acres will hold two celebrations on Sunday, Feb. 2, featuring two live groundhogs.

Elliott, one of Acorn Acres' resident groundhogs, will make his official prognostication at the Hempfield Apothetique, 100 W. Walnut St., Lancaster. The event will run from 9 to 11 a.m. with Elliott scheduled to provide his forecast at 10.

Elliott learned his trade from Poppy, Acorn Acres' first, and most famous, groundhog. Poppy, who appeared in a 2020 commercial during the professional championship football game and was nominated for an Emmy, died Feb. 28, 2023. "Lancaster cried that day," said Betsy Shank, Acorn Acres' founder and executive director.

Shank said Elliott was a "hot mess" when he came to Acorn Acres because of the individualized care the volunteers furnish. "Elliott got to meet Poppy, and she imparted her Groundhog Day knowledge and skills to him," Shank said. Elliott made his first solo prognostication last year and will be passing along his know-how to fellow groundhog Lilly.

Snacks will be available. Donations will be accepted, and there will be some merchandise for sale. "It's just a fun community event, and how often do you get to see a live groundhog on Groundhog Day?" said Shank.

Acorn Acres' annual Groundhog Day Party will be held at the Imperial Event Center Blue Ballroom & Imperial Terrace, 26 E. Chestnut St., Lancaster, from 3 to 7 p.m. It is a free, family-friendly event with games, drawings, and activities for kids. Elliott will make his prognostication regarding the championship football game, looking to make his third straight correct prediction.

Acorn Acres, a wildlife rehabilitation and education facility, was born Sept. 1, 2020, but because of the pandemic, did not officially announce itself to the world until Jan. 1, 2021. It operated out of 154 square feet in Shank's home before moving to its current location, 2100 Stone Mill Road, Lancaster, on Nov. 9, 2024. "The community needed us too much, and we didn't fit in my house anymore," said Shank. "They were giving us too many animals. I was running 300 animals through my dining room every year."

It is the first commercial or nonresidential wildlife rehabilitation and education facility in Lancaster County. "We made history that day," Shank said.

Acorn Acres treats a variety of animals. "We don't do any predators," Shank said. "Predators are animals with the eyes going front. I do animals with eyes going side. And we don't do any birds. We do any of your common backyard prey animals - moles, voles, shrews, bats, flying squirrels, chipmunks, squirrels, bunnies, and groundhogs. We are also the only place in the county to do Virginia opossums."

Shank's life changed on April 16, 2010. "That's the day I found my first baby squirrel," she says. On a tax season holiday from her accounting job performing internal audit and compliance on financial institutions, she was mowing her yard on a tractor when she saw a squirrel she believed was dead. Planning to dispose of the squirrel so her dogs wouldn't eat it, Shank discovered the squirrel was alive and began scraping off the maggots. "I wrapped him up in my shirt and drove back to the house," she recalled.

"I did everything wrong," Shank joked. "Everything. I could not have been more wrong. The squirrel survived. He was released. He did not survive because of me; he survived in spite of me. I found my calling in life that day. I found my first baby squirrel, and I found my calling in life."

A year later, Shank was fired from her corporate job. Caring for a litter of baby squirrels that required constant care, Shank brought the squirrels to work and put them under her desk, causing her to be fired. "At the time, of course, I was devastated," Shank said. "But then I needed an income, so I started sewing."

Shank began making bedding for squirrels from material around the house such as old pillowcases.

Friends offered to pay for her work, and it became a profitable business. Shank started traveling the East Coast selling cage gear for animals and talking with rehabilitators. "I was invited into their clinics and homes to learn," she said. "My training is not conventional, but I basically took the best of everybody and made it my own."

When the pandemic hit, Shank pivoted to making CDC-compliant masks to donate to veterinarians and turned it into a business because of public demand. Shank said she never wanted to profit off COVID, but the proceeds went to a good cause. Shank joined a business mentoring group and hired an attorney to start a nonprofit, and Acorn Acres was born. Acorn Acres operates 100% by donation, and there is no payroll.

"It's all for the animals," Shank says, "We're the only facility in Pennsylvania to specialize in the rehabilitation of squirrels, bunnies, and groundhogs."

To learn more about Acorn Acres, visit http://www.acornacreswr.com.