The annual International Frog Jumping Jubilee is a four-day event that started on Thursday, May 19 and ended on Sunday, May 22.
It was featured in Netflix’s documentary “We are the Champions,” which was about different types of competitions all over the world in 2020. Episode six, “Frog Jumping,” travels to Calaveras County in California for the International Frog Jumping Jubilee.
The International Frog Jumping Jubilee has been a traditional competition since 1928 in Calaveras County, Angels Camp. It is a four-day event similar to county fairs all over the state, which features many stands, food, parades, and especially competitions.
The main event celebrates the long-lived legacy of Mark Twain and his very first successful story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” which follows a miner named Jim Smiley and tries to place wagers on anything, including out-jumping a stranger’s frog.
The Frog Jumping Festival and the town directly reflect Mark Twain’s story, where contestants catch and train frogs all year round to jump the farthest in this annual competition. These frogs are then protected and pampered in the “Frog Spa” during the event so they don’t get hurt. After the event, all frogs are released back into the wilderness to live out the rest of their lives.
Though the major theme of the festival centers around frogs, different events take place every single day except for the frog jumping competition.
May 19 had costume contests, the Saddle Queen contest, hula-hoop contests, wine tasting, money drawings and scholarship pageants.
May 20 is nicknamed “Buckaroo Day” which is all about animals and cowboys. They had Cowboy Round-Up, pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying, flag race, ranch penning, stick horse race, coin digging and line dancing. They also auctioned off and gave prizes to animals.
May 21 had arm-wrestling contests, flower arrangements contests, a Lego build-up, Frogtown Stampede, cattle penning, cattle sorting, cattle stealing, ranch roping and calf branding.
May 22 is the official “International Frog Jump Day” which had cattle dog demonstrations, the international frog jump finals and a demolition derby to finish the festival.
The winner out-jumped 49 other competitors by a foot. Five-year-old Nolan Moncrief wins by a landslide with a frog that jumped 19 feet and ¼ of an inch.
Different food, stands and souvenirs are also found all throughout the festival.
