More to Frog Follies than frogs
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A lot of has changed since Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles came to St Pierre Jolys to launch the first ever Frog Follies on July 14, 1970, but the festival remains at its heart a community celebration.
Festival president Roxane Gagne said this is the 54th year for the popular festival, while the St Pierre Agricultural Fair, which joined Frog Follies in 2009, is enjoying their 128th year.
This year Frog Follies runs from Aug. 8 to Aug. 11.
And while the frog jumping contest took centre stage at that first event, she said that’s changed in recent years.
“The focal point is not the frog jumping,” she said.
As awareness increased about the potential harm in people catching and bringing frogs from the surrounding area some changes have been implemented.
Beginning last year a frog catcher is hired by festival organizers. That catcher collects frogs, takes care of them and releases them back according to GPS coordinates recorded at the time of capture.
“We had to really think about the ethical treatment of the animals and how we pursue this going forward,” she said.
This year the Canadian National Frog Follies Championship will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Carillon Park Stage. Local politicians will have the chance to compete for bragging rights and this year’s event will feature past champions.
The first winner of the competition was then RM of Hanover Reeve Albert Driedger, whose frog Georges jumped seven feet and 1.25 inches.
The event will also include education about frogs and the children’s competition has been brought back.
A casual glance at the schedule reveals there is much more happening than the competition.
Entertainment covers a wide variety of interests, and Gagne said they are excited to welcome Don Amero to the main stage to cap off Saturday’s entertainment before fireworks begin.
They’ve also brought back a show that made a big impression last year, called The Flame Syndicate Fire Show, scheduled for Friday evening at 10:30 p.m.
“That was a big deal last year,” Gagne said. “It was the first time we brought it and everyone adored it so we brought it back again for this year.”
Frog Follies is free though there are costs for the Friday Chamber supper and the Saturday morning pancake breakfast.
It begins with a Thursday night Bingo, with the rest of the festival kicking off on Friday. Comedy, kids shows, a parade, face painting, bubble soccer, and bouncy castles keep the action going.
The festival winds down on Sunday afternoon with the children’s frog jumping, voyageur games, live pro wrestling by CWE Canada and elRoy Blue Classic Rock.
A full schedule can be found at frogfollies.com.