With an emphatic hat toss to the ground and a wave of his arms across his chest like a referee in the upcoming Super Bowl, Grand Marshal Jeff Jolet declared “no shadeaux,” at the Cajun Groundhog Day event on this morning in Bouligny Plaza.

Hundreds of people, from schoo lchildren to the senior citizens, cheered as Pierre C. Shadeaux failed to see his own shadow, signifying a longer spring and a later start to the hot and humid Louisiana summer.

“They should have had him wearing something Saints-related, like a little Saints sweater,” Darnell Delcambre of New Iberia said. Delcambre was attending the event for the first time with her husband, Elton. 

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The 13th annual ceremony kicked off at 7:30 a.m. and was led by Daily Iberian’s publisher Will Chapman, who told the crowd he has had requests for information on the event from all over the county, and as far away as Canada.

“We have a great crowd here to help celebrate Cajun Groundhog Day,” Chapman said. “We started this just to have a little bit of fun.”

Children from the Epiphany Day School in New Iberia sang special songs in honor of the event, including one to the tune of ‘Silent Night,’ and a second called ‘Groundhog, Will He See His Shadow?’

“This is the first time that I came; I really wanted to see him,” John-Patrick Theriot, 8, of Epiphany Day School, said. “My favorite part is when he came out.”

New Iberia Mayor Hilda Curry and Iberia Parish President Ernest Freyou each issued proclamations declaring ‘Cajun Groundhog Day,’ and Chapman told the crowd the history of the groundhog day event, poking fun at the famous event held up north in Punxsutawney, Pa.

“They do their event starting at sunrise,” Chapman said. “Pierre is a bit more civilized than that and thus our later start.”

As part of the event, The Daily Iberian teamed up with Iberia Bank and gave out prizes to three children as part of a Groundhog Day Essay Contest.

Third prize went to fifth-grader Saasha Small of Caneview Elementary School, second place went to first-grader Kylon Segura of Caneview Elementary and the winner was sixth-grader Bryan Vital of Park Elementary School.

“You might think that he is a Saints fan. I mean, who isn’t?” Vital said in his essay. “I can see Pierre with a Saints flag in his mouth and a Saints jersey on.”