Jumpin' for joy: Frog jump fest returns to Mill Stream Park in Valley City

VALLEY CITY — Astounding amphibians and their proud owners took part in Sunday's 60th annual Valley City Frog Jump Festival, making its return to Mill Stream Park among throng of smiling visitors. The Frog Jump Festival, also known as the "Frog Days of Summer Classic," welcomes contestants of all ages and their four-legged pals to step into the ring and test their skills across numerous jumping categories. Festivities are put on annually and overseen by the Valley City Community Group. Other Sunday attractions included train rides, bounce houses, bubble soccer, face painting, food and a wide variety of vendors. A live DJ was accompanied by the Medina County District Library's Bookmobile. "Thinking of all the bad weather we've had lately, it's sure not like that today and we have a lot of happy people here," said community group board member Linda Garrett. "We've sold out of T-shirts and that's definitely a good sign of how many people are here." "They sold out of ribs and a lot of food, everything is selling out," she added. "This is excellent turnout. People are really enjoying themselves. I hope we have a record sellout for our jumpers as well. I'd say this has all turned out to be a typical size day for us, nothing could put a damper on that." Parking space was running short by midafternoon in a packed park venue, likely marking one of Medina County's largest public gatherings since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Organizers announced the festival's postponement last year in June. Resident Elizabeth Kingsbury-Szwec was spotted coming into the festival with her 1-year-old son, Myles. "The kids have all signed up for the events this year and it seems like they're trying to make it more than just the frog jump," she said. "There's so much for everyone to do and, since we live just around the corner down there, we know we can come out and have a nice time and its right here in town for us. Everyone loves having this here and having it back." Winners of each frog jumping category eventually compete against each other for the title of grand champion. More than 700 frogs have thrown their hats into the ring in some years, all vying for greatness and a 19-foot, 1-inch-long jump record set in 1988. Nick Turner of Harrison County is a past frog jump trophy winner and said he's been coming to the event for nearly 30 years. On Sunday, his 8-year-old son Lucas kept that tradition alive and tried to add to his own trophy collection. "I guess we are kind of multiple generations for the frog jump," Turner said. "I think I was 6 the first time I was here. I remember thinking back then how much I liked the experience here and it was important to me and my dad. Now, it's important to us to be here together and do the same thing." "I just think it's fun," Lucas said. "I've been doing this for five years and one year I won my heat and I got a (12-foot, four-inch jump). We're going to try and do even better today." In recent years leading up to 2019, the Frog Jump Festival had combined with the 87-year-old Valley City Street Fair. The events went back to being separate entities, at least for this summer, with the street fair scheduled to encompass downtown Aug. 13-15. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at 330-721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.