YORK FAIR from the York Dispatch

York Fair
Grizzlies delight with free show at fairBROCK PARKER -- The York DispatchArticle Last Updated: 09/08/2008 09:43:37 AM EDT
Monica Welde encourages Lucy, a grizzly bear yearling, as she tries to put a basketball into a...«1»Monica Welde didn't seem too concerned when Bruno the brown bear swung a ladder at her husband at the York Fair Sunday night.It was all part of the act.
Monica Welde's husband, Johnny Welde, is a third-generation bear trainer, and the couple has brought their grizzly and brown bear show, "Grizzly Falls," to the York Fair for the first time this year.
So when Bruno chased Johnny Welde with a ladder inside a caged ring, and Monica Welde encouraged the bear to show his teeth, it was all part of a well-rehearsed and well-secured program for fairgoers.
"He can look so ferocious, but actually he can be a real sweetheart," Monica Welde said of the bear.
Part of the reason Monica Welde, 48, and Johnny Welde, 52, are so confident that their bears are safe is because they have raised them since they were cubs, she said.
The couple has 10 bears, and many of the animals they work with are the descendants of the bears that belonged to Johnny Welde's grandfather.
The captive bears often live into their 30s, Monica Welde said, and she said over the years they have never had a safety problem with a bear at their show.
"Bears get a bad rap," said Monica Welde. "But you have to remember these are captive born. In the wild they have to be aggressive to survive. Our bears aren't looking to eat people. They are full."
What they eat: Instead of people, Monica Welde said the bears eat fruits and vegetables, hundreds of pounds of dog food, special-order bear food,
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------fish and sardines.Hunger satisfied, the Weldes' bears shift their attention to entertaining. They slam basketballs, strike yoga poses, clap their hands or balance all of their girth while standing on a ball during the show.
Monica Welde said she thinks people enjoy the rapport between the bears and the trainers, and she said the bears like to put on a show.
"We've got a couple of hams," Welde said. "They all have their individual personalities."
The bears didn't disappoint Sunday night, when they filled the bleacher seats for their 8 p.m. show next to the Toyota Arena at the fair.
Katie McFarland of Mount Wolf and Amy Keller of West York said the trainers seemed to have the bears well under control, and they enjoyed the show.
Keller did admit she was "glad there was a fence" around the bears. But the bears didn't seem to bother Katie McFarland's 10-year-old daughter, Eden McFarland.
"They were cute," Eden said.
The "Grizzly Falls" bear show will have three performances a day throughout the fair. Show times on Saturdays and Sundays are 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Weekdays, show times are 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The bears are big, but the prices are not. The show is free.