Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee

Festival Location: Angels Camp, CA, USA

Festival State: Californian Festivals

Festival Type(s): Bizarre Festivals, Animal Festivals, Bizarre Sports Events

By: © Nelson Taylor 2009

Mark Twain's short story, "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," published in 1865, helped put the Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee on the map. Although the fair debuted in 1893, the frog celebration wasn't instilled until 1928. Now it's the king daddy of all frog-jumping contests around America.

Throughout the year, frogs and their ever-finicky human trainers compete at sanctioned events around the country in order to win a shot at this long distance title. Once they've earned their invitation, for three days every May, thousands of pairs of frog legs fly in Angels Camp; each pair hopes to be one of the fifty who qualify for the International Frog Jump held on Sunday, where they have a chance at winning $5,000 if they beat the current world record of 21 feet and 5.75 inches set in 1986 by "Rosie the Ribiter," jockeyed Lee Guidici of Santa Clara, CA. First place in the Jump takes home $750.

Day tickets to the fair range from $8 to $10 per day, or a weekend pass can be purchased for $25. For kids under 12 and seniors over 62, it's free.