It's 'bring your own frog' to Clarkson Good Neighbor Days

Part of the fun and excitement of the frog jumping contest at Clarkson's Good Neighbor Days is the "bring your own frog" aspect of it.

"Anyone can participate but you have to bring your own," Clarkson Supervisor Paul Kimball said. "The competition draws a lot of spectators and participants. It's a real good time for everyone."

Frog jumping takes place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 27.

Along with the hopping good time offered at the frog jumping track, visitors can test their skills on a rock climbing wall and make friends with animals in the petting zoo. "There's also a fishing derby on tap," Kimball said. "The derby is for kids ages four to 15 and is Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon."

Also for the younger set is a "monster truck" equipment show. Kimball said there will be fire trucks, backhoes and other large pieces of equipment on hand for the children to explore.

"We're also going to have a demonstration of the jaws of life equipment by the Brockport Fire Department at 7 p.m. on Friday," he said.

Festivities kick off Friday, August 26 at 6 p.m. with Gary the Happy Pirate taking to the stage at 7:30 p.m. Blue Sky is scheduled for the evening's closing entertainment. Parking and admission are free but there is a nominal charge for some of the children's activities.

Saturday gets underway with a pancake breakfast, hosted by the fire department, from 8 to 10 a.m.

Visitors to the second day of the event will be greeted with all-day activities ranging from watermelon seed spitting contests to a custom motorcycle show, antique tractor and cruise-in, food, music and more.

The Julie Dunlap Band and High Maintenance will take to the stage on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. as will local youth band The Ballistics.
Kimball said there will be a wide variety of food vendor booths as well as the return of the horse show.

"With the horse show coming back it adds a whole other dimension to Good Neighbor Days," he said.

One of the biggest draws to the two-day event is the lumberjack competition.

"The competition is exciting and unique and it's the only lumberjack competition offered locally," Kimball said. "People who come to our event come from all across the United States and Canada to compete for more than $3,000 in prize money."

Lumberjacks and Jills will be rolling into Clarkson
Watching lumberjacks and lumberjills take up their unique tools and compete for the public is not something one can see every day, but you can see it, free, at the Clarkson Good Neighbor Days on August 27.

"The lumberjack contests are exciting and unique to the area," Town Supervisor Paul Kimball said. "We host the only regional competition and we have people come from across the United States and Canada to compete."

Competitors at the event will be vying for more than $3,000 in prizes, Kimball said.

According to organizers, the level of competition and the addition of new events have increased every year which means the caliber of competitors has increased.

The events lined up in the timber sports competition include: underhand chop, two person cross cut, ax throwing, log rolling, hot saw (modified chain saws), single buck and bow saw. The "hot saw" competition involves taking an off-the-shelf chainsaw and making it into a "raging beast" or taking something that was never intended to be a chain saw - like a snowmobile engine, installing a bar and chain and calling it a chainsaw.

The spring board event that takes place during the competition is one of the hardest, participants say. Competitors begin at the bottom of a nine-foot tall pole, chop a pocket into it, sticking in a board, standing on the board and chop another pocket until they reach the top. At the top of the pole another challenge awaits - a board has to be chopped.

Men and women show up for the events in almost equal numbers, Kimball said.

Pre-registration is required for the event which kicks off at 10 a.m.

Lumberjack language primer
As unique as the sport of lumberjacking is, it comes with its own unique language. What follows is a bit of a lingo primer for the uninitiated and for those who intend on watching the competition during the Good Neighbor Days festivities. This is a short list of the lumberjack "cut-up" slang.

• A lumberjack is a man who participates in the sport of log cutting.
• A lumberjill is a woman who participates.
• Bow saw or Swedesaw: has one person using a pulp saw to cut through a chunk of wood. A pulp saw features a 42-inch blade and the chunk of wood is usually 12 inches thick.
• Ax throwing: this activity involves throwing a double bit ax at a bull's eye target positioned 20 feet away.
• Cross cut: this competition involves two people using a cross cut saw to work their way through the log.
• Single buck: features female competitors at the helm of the saw.
• Modified chain saw or hot saw: anything goes as far as what the competitor puts into their saw's muffler system. This is a "souped-up" chainsaw.
• Underhand: this event has the participant standing on a block of wood and cutting between their feet to cut through the log.
• Springboard: competitors (this is a male dominated event) make their way to the top of a pole by chopping a foothold into the log, inserting a springboard, hopping up onto the springboard and chopping another until they make their way to the platform at the top of the pole.

Silent auction and fireworks on tap
The silent auction has become a popular mainstay of the Clarkson Good Neighbor Days event and this year will be no different, Supervisor Paul Kimball said.

The auction, which features donations from area businesses, runs from noon until 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Also on Saturday will be many activities including a pie eating and watermelon seed spitting contest at 2 p.m., Mr. Beau the Clown at 3 p.m. and frog jumping contest at 4 p.m.

Saturday's entertainment includes Julie Dunlap, the horse show, lumberjack competitions and the fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. which will cap off the two day event.

"It's a great wholesome family event," Kimball said. "We have something for everyone, admission and parking is free and it's a great way to build a community atmosphere."

Information about events and times is included in an advertisement in this special section.

Vintage cars on display at Good Neighbor Days
Invitations have been mailed to car buffs across the region to participate in the vintage car show and cruise-in as part of the Saturday festivities at the Clarkson Good Neighbor Days event. The cruise-in starts at noon.

Last year more than 50 owners came to the event to show off their vehicles. The cruise-in isn't a competitive event.

"The car show is a way for individuals with vintage, antique and classic cars to come and show them off," Town Supervisor Paul Kimball said.

The show is sponsored by the Western NY V-8 Club.

Saddle up for Good Neighbor Days
For the first time in two years, the Clarkson Horseman's Association will again be at the Clarkson Good Neighbor Days event.

"We didn't go for a couple of years because people were afraid the noise and commotion from the lumberjack events would spook the horses, but it turns out it likely won't have that big of an effect," Pat Tooley, president of the association said.

The show is scheduled to run Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. and kicks off with the English show classes followed by show classes and the Western pleasure classes. The games begin around 3 p.m. with barrel racing, pole bending and more, Tooley said.

"This is our biggest event of the year," he said. "We get about 150 entries and have a lot of local people who ride in this show."

"Town Supervisor Paul Kimball said he is happy the Horseman's Association is coming back. "It's a great fit for the two day event," he said.

Tooley said he and the riders who have already signed up are looking forward to a great turnout. "We have a lot of top quality riders and events planned," he said.