Laurie McAndish King reports from the High Sierras at the legendary Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee where she discovers the insider secrets to winning the $5,000 grand prize.
Frog jumpers from around the world travel to Calaveras County, California, to participate in the celebrated Jumping Frog Jubilee—the current incarnation of a contest that’s been held since at least 1865, when Mark Twain first wrote about it.
Contestants hope to beat the standing (jumping?) record of twenty-one feet, five and three-quarters inches for a 3-jump entry—and win the $5,000 cash prize.
What’s it like to participate in such a storied event? Associate Producer, Laurie McAndish King visits with the official Frog Meister, who runs the fair’s Frog Spa and is responsible for the welfare of hundreds of frogs at the event; a volunteer who has traveled all the way from Nebraska—for four years running—to be part of this extravaganza; and an experienced frog jockey (the human half of a contestant team).
Listen in as King learns how to tell a male from a female bullfrog (hint: check their ears), how jockeys coax the best performance from a jumping frog, where fair officials get the 4,000 live crickets they need to feed the frogs, and why the frog-jumping community feels like family.
Award-winning author and photojournalist Laurie McCandish King is an associate producer for Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer.
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