The Rayne Frog festival is part of the yearly calendar of festivals celebrating Louisiana industry. Rayne became the Frog Capitol of the World in the late 1800’s and is home to the Louisiana Jumbo Bullfrog. Over the years, they have sold frog legs to fancy restaurants all over the world, sold frogs for dissections, and had two of its frogs go into space with NASA.
Frog legs have been popular in France for centuries. They became more popular in the early 1900’s in the US and are particularly popular in Catholic regions as frogs are considered fish so they can be eaten during Lent.
While selling frogs for dollars was in decline in the 1970’s, Rayne decided to celebrate its reign by starting the festival in 1973. Louisiana festivals have the regular carnivals, food court, and parades, but have a great twist to the pageants. While most pageants focus on beauty, Louisiana pageants focus on a knowledge of local industry. To be crowned the frog Queen, the high school girls have to know about frogs and show off theirs in a fancy or funny costume. The Queen then travels most weekends to other festivals to represent her area and to spread the word about their amazing and delicious amphibians.
