Angels Camp, CA…(Frogtown, USA)…One of the things that makes rural communities wonderful and colorful places to live is their traditions. At the top of the tradition list in Angels Camp and Calaveras County is each year’s Calaveras Saddle Queen & Miss Calaveras Contestants spending a bit of up close and personal time with the Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County. The Vatican has Papal Rings and Calaveras County has it’s Frogs.

Mark Twain and our little green friends put Calaveras County on the map in 1865. Each May our Celebrated Jumping Frogs thrust it back into the national spotlight. Contestants must pay proper homage to our local history as they strive to become a future part of it.

Each year at the close of the Fair Kickoff Dinner the ladies walk the figurative green carpet and kiss a few frogs. Over the years we have seen looks ranging from sheer terror to maybe a bit too much enjoyment. As with most things in life taking it in stride and with a smile seems to be the best way forward.

Below are some photos of the brave young ladies who not only had the guts and will power to enter the contests this year but also the fortitude to realize that kissing a few frogs always has to be done on the path to success.

They can all look back and say to themselves that I did that with a smile on my face so the next of life’s challenges really doesn’t seem as daunting.

The Calaveras Saddle Queen and Miss Calaveras Contests are always the focal point of the first day of the Fair & Frog Jump each year.

This year the Calaveras County Fair & Frog Jump Jubilee runs from May 16 – 19. See ya there…