
One way to gather a crowd is to have food, frogs, a parade and an egg-striking contest.
On March 29 through 30, the town of Springfield will host its 58th Governor’s Frog Jump and International Egg Strike Festival.
For Springfield Mayor Leroy Ballard, this will be his first time to attend and participate in it.
“At the end of the day, my goal is bringing people together,” he said.
“As long as we get the community together, we can accomplish anything,” he added.
Ballard said, “We’re hoping to make it bigger and better than it once was.”
Two new additions to the festival include a dunking booth and a mechanical bull. Ballard said he and a few town council members will be among those who participate in the dunking booth.
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Another addition is the three-on-three basketball game set for 5 p.m. March 29 at Goodland Park, weather permitting.
The basketball game will be the first event for the weekend festival.
Also on Friday, carnival rides and games will operate from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
DJ Calvin Henderson will provide entertainment on the railroad platform from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The curfew for Friday is 10 p.m.
Most of the festival’s activities are scheduled for Saturday.
Highlights include the parade at 11 a.m., the children’s Easter Egg Hunt at Springfield United Methodist Church at noon, the egg strike contest at 1:30 p.m. and the frog jump contest at 2:30 p.m.
Last year’s event was cold and rainy, but the forecast is looking warmer and drier for the weekend’s festivities.
On March 2, festival organizers held an inaugural Frog Jump Talent Show.
Participants included: Journey Aiken, Hannah Branch, Forever Young Three (a dance group), Staci Harmon, Andrea Smith, Springfield Stockyard operators Nathan Croft and Heather Templeton, Ny Kianna Williams and Olivia Woodard.
The Springfield Frog Jump’s origins go back to 1966 in Columbia when the governor of California asked South Carolina’s governor to send a frog to the Golden State for the famous Calaveras County Frog Jump.
In 1968, the South Carolina Governor’s Frog Jump took place in Columbia.
It was won by a frog from Springfield.
Then-Gov. Robert McNair asked Springfield officials if the town wanted to sponsor the festival and the rest is history.
The current rules for the annual Springfield Frog Jump allow each contestant to register a maximum of two frogs.
Contestants are responsible for providing their own frogs.
Contestants must register for the jump at the festival and will be issued registration papers.
Contestants must hand the registration papers to an official upon entering the frog jump arena. If paperwork is lost before entering the arena, the contestant will not be allowed to use their frogs in the competition.
Contestants will be assigned numbers and the registered frogs will jump in order.
The frog jump contest isn’t divided into contestants’ age brackets, rather contestants will compete equally for first, second and third places.
Last year’s winner was Travis Still. His frog “Cletus” jumped 10 feet, five inches.
The longest distance recorded in Springfield’s Frog Jump Hall of Fame is 17 feet, three inches.
Emily Nettles set that record in 2006 with her frog named “Goober.”
The international egg strike contest is based on a tradition carried by early American pioneers from Ireland and central Europe, according to the Town of Springfield’s website.
Each participant uses the end of a boiled egg to strike against the end of another participant’s boiled egg.
The participant who ends up with a broken egg must forfeit.
The winner is the participant whose egg outlasts the other eggs without breaking.
The egg strike contest is divided into junior and senior divisions.
Last year’s winners were Mark Williams in the senior division and Jessa Williams in the junior division. Both are from Neeses.
To learn more, visit the “Governor’s Frog Jump” on Facebook.
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