Posted in Events on January 28, 2010.

Press Release

LIVINGSTON – Calamity J. Marmot, official weather-seer of The Community Closet thrift store’s annual Marmot Madness event, last year did not see her shadow and, thus, predicted an early spring.

She was spot on.

“Last year was our first Marmot Madness event, and the marmot correctly forecast an early spring,” Caron Cooper, Community Closet executive director, said. “So I like to say that the marmot method is 100 percent accurate to date.”

That accuracy record will be put to the test this year on Feb. 2, otherwise known as Groundhog Day. That morning at 10 o’clock, Calamity will return to her perch outside the Community Closet to predict whether Livingston will have an early spring or an extended winter.

“No shadow means good news, we’ll get an early spring, and we’ll have a storewide 50 percent-off-everything sale,” Cooper said. “If there’s a shadow, that’s bad news, so we’re going to sweeten things up with a free winter hat! It’s a win/win for us, because we’ll have a good time, no matter what.”

And it won’t just be Livingston watching this time.

Last February’s Marmot Madness caught the attention of Punxsutawney Phil’s official handler, Ben Hughes, who sent along what Cooper called a “gracious introduction into the world of rodent weather forecasting.”

Punxsutawney Phil has rolled out of his home in Punxsutawney, Penn., every Feb. 2 for 123 years to predict when winter will end.

“Congratulations on your recent Groundhog Day promotions — imitation is the highest form of flattery,” Hughes wrote in an e-mail on Feb. 3, 2009. “Phil got a kick out of your initiatives. It’s a small world and Phil is always looking for his fans and foes.”

The Community Closet organized the Made-in-Montana version of the event because Cooper said she was convinced a local marmot would provide a more accurate forecast for this region than a groundhog in Pennsylvania.

Before the 2009 event, the store held a contest to name the marmot. The winning submission came from Cathy Pappert and was one of more than 50 entries in the contest.

The 2009 event “and the excitement we generated at the store was a lot of fun, right in the middle of winter,” Cooper said. “We’re a nonprofit thrift store. Business is always slower in the winter because bad weather makes it difficult for donors as well as customers, to get out and about. The Marmot Madness event brought in lots of people and just re-energized us.”

Besides, she said, “we have some really creative people working and volunteering here, and Marmot Madness lets everyone work together on a fun event. And personally, I love working at a place where hosting parties is part of the job description.”

So Cooper’s not too worried about the weather.

Hughes agreed with that sentiment.

“We like to say: ‘There are a lot of serious and important things in life and Groundhog Day is not one of them,’ ” he wrote in his e-mail.

The Community Closet is a nonprofit organization that sells affordable pre-owned merchandise donated by community members. Additionally, no-cost store merchandise is offered to other nonprofits (including teachers) and vouchers to those who can’t afford needed purchases. Profits are redistributed by the board of directors on a quarterly basis to other nonprofits and charitable activities in Park County. Since 2005, the organization has reinvested more than $85,000 in Park County’s people and nonprofit institutions.

The Community Closet thrift store, 416 E. Park St., is open Monday through Friday 10 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturday 8 am to 4:00 pm. The Alley Annex, where everything sells for a quarter or less, is open just one day a week, Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. It is located behind the Community Closet thrift store.

---