St. Joseph Museums presents ‘Rewind: A Time Traveling Soiree to The Frog Hop’
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- A night of singing, dancing and historical charm transported guests back in time as the St. Joseph Museums hosted their second annual "Rewind" series, this year’s event celebrated the legacy of a past local landmark, the Frog Hop ballroom.
From 1928 until 1978, the Frog Hop Ballroom was a social ballroom in St. Joseph, a place where generations of families came to dance, where proms were held, and where national legends like Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Conway Twitty and Barbara Mandrell once performed.
“It was quite the happening place to come to dance,” said Lance Rich, board secretary for the St. Joseph Museums and committee sponsor for the events committee. “There were several generations of people who grew up here going to the frog hop. Their parents might have gone, they would have gone, their kids might have gone.”
The event aimed to evoke the spirit of the ballroom, even though the original building no longer stands, as two of its three locations were lost to fires.
The evening’s programming began with a nod to the Frog Hop’s opening night, New Year’s Eve, 1928, featuring a balloon drop and party favors.
An old-fashioned radio show then guided guests through the venue’s history.
The music of the era filled the room, with performances by the St. Joseph Big Band, whose roots actually trace back to the original Frog Hop, and the group Trilemma, which performed hits from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Guests embraced the theme, with many dressed in fashions from the mid-20th century.
Attendees also enjoyed period-accurate food, including frog legs.
One guest, Megan Burks, said it was her first time attending a Rewind event.
“I’m not originally from St. Joe, so it’s nice to learn a lot about the history,” Burks said.
She added that she was most looking forward to “the music and the people dancing, just looking at everybody’s outfits.”
Rich noted that the event serves two major purposes: reminding the community that St. Joseph is “a great, cool place that has an amazing history,” and highlighting the role of the St. Joseph Museums as the city’s municipal museum.
“Events like this help us tell the story of this city,” he said.
The St. Joseph Museums hope that attendees went home with a deeper knowledge of their city’s past and a renewed appreciation for local history.
The “Rewind” series is an annual event, and organizers already have big plans for next year.
Anyone interested in attending next year is encouraged to visit the museum’s website for updates.
