A community event with roots that trace back to a 1970 royal visit is coming up this weekend in St-Pierre-Jolys, Man. It’s called the Frog Follies and Agricultural Fair and it’s set to include live entertainment, family-friendly activities and the national frog jumping championships. Performers include Al Simmons, Les Barn Boys, a Fleetwood Mac cover band and the Ukrainian band Zrada. “[The lineup] is fantastic this year,” said the fair’s programming and promotions director Roxane Gagné in an interview with Your Morning Winnipeg on Wednesday. “I’ve got to say that we really smashed it out of the park with our performances because it reflects the diversity of our community today, which is fantastic. ” According to Gagné, the event began with a frog jumping competition that was used to impress Queen Elizabeth II when she came to visit St-Pierre-Jolys in the summer of 1970. Since then, the event has grown into an annual tradition that brings in thousands of attendees every year. As for how the frog jumping competition works, Gagné explained a professional frog catcher goes out the night before and picks the best competitors. From there, people sign up to take part in the tournament and attempt to get their frog to jump the farthest. “The frog does three leaps and it’s whoever has the most distance that wins the competition,” Gagné said. The Frog Follies and Agricultural Fair is on from Aug. 6 to 9 at Carillon Park. More information is available online. frogfollies.com/map.html
