DES MOINES, Iowa — From dressing up to celebrating birthdays, crowds of people had a great time celebrating Groundhog Day in Des Moines.

Hundreds gathered at the High Life Lounge to see Polk County Paula and celebrate 21 years with her, while waiting for word from Phil in Pennsylvania.

“We love Groundhog Day. We’ve been coming here for a lot of years,” said Linda George. “We have so much fun. We love it. It’s just a happy, happy time. We love Polk County Paula, she’s our girl.”

One visitor came to experience the event for the first time after seeing how much fun the celebration was last year.

“My buddy posted last year, and I saw how much fun it was. And I’m like, I can’t miss,” said Scott Millang. “This is a great time. It’s a great celebration for Des Moines. You got all the great people coming out. We all, we support our groundhogs.”

Millang was so excited for the event he even dressed up as a groundhog, thought it was actually a hamster costume.

“I mean, look around like everybody showed up. It takes a lot to get me up on Sunday at this early in the morning. So, yeah, it’s a great event,” said Millang.

It was an exciting day for many visitors, but one person had an extra special visit.

“Well, today is my 52nd birthday and I’ve never seen a groundhog come out of the ground and cast a shadow,” said Jeff Spence. “So, I wanted to see it and it was incredible. It’s an incredible experience to be here with all my friends and family and a groundhog.”

Polk County Paula did not see her shadow, indicating an early spring. However, Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania is predicting a few more weeks of wintery weather.