It ain’t easy being green, said Jim Henson’s muppet, Kermit the frog, especially when you’re helping to raise money for the Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard.

Six special frogs will compete in the Fourth Annual Frog Races at the Frog & Onion Pub in Dockyard this weekend.

The frog races have been growing in popularity. Last year, 200 people turned out to participate and raised $8,000 for the Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard.

“The six frogs will be created by local artists and these will be auctioned off at the beginning of the night,” said organiser Heidi Cowen. “The new ‘owners’ of the frogs (usually a group goes together to bid on the frogs) then organise their ‘jockeys’ for the races. The frogs are laid at the starting line and then they are moved along the racetrack by the jockey at the other end.”

The frogs can only be moved by rolling string over a bamboo stick, a move similar to winding kite string onto a stick.

“It is a task that looks easy until you grab that stick,” said Miss Cowen.

This year’s frogs will be created by artists Michael Cacy, Graham Foster, Kathryn Garcia, Donna Pink, Michele Smith and Tricia Walters. Each frog is made out of thin board cut into the shape of a frog and then decorated and painted.

“We leave it to the imagination of the artists that are creating,” said Miss Cowen. “We have everything from a traditional frog sporting his Bermuda shorts to a very strange Graham Foster creation of what almost looks like an inside-out frog.

“We ‘interview’ the frogs, get their ‘stories’, and then the racers are off. Over the years we have had everything from a rapper frog with a serious attitude to this year’s frog that pretends that she is a snowy owl.”

The races coincide with the opening of a new show at the Bermuda Arts Centre called Slow Down, Look Around.

“We are encouraging our artists to take a closer look at their surroundings,” said Miss Cowen. “As we ‘zoom’ by in our cars and on our bikes sometimes we forget the beauty around us and the little things that help to pull our worlds together. This show is all about the close ups of our every day to day.”

In addition, artist Nahed Eid will be opening her new show in the small gallery at the Bermuda Arts Centre. She said “It will be as fun......ctional as it gets”.

Both shows opens on Sunday (April 12) from 3.30pm to 5.30pm and is followed by the Frog Races at the Frog and Onion Pub at 6pm. Both shows run until May 18.