THE BALLOON MAN

Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival offers a multitude of unusual performers, demonstrations

Zoom A juggling clown lies on the ground laughing as the Jumbo Shrimp Circus performs at the Genie Stage on Wednesday during the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival in Indio. / Omar Ornelas The Desert Sun
Feb. 24, 2011
County fairs are known for their quirky events.
The Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival, with its infamous ostrich and camel races, is no exception.A stroll around the vast fairgrounds in Indio will reveal a bounty of odd and unusual performances.There are the “usual” pig races, hypnotists, children's tractor pulls and break dancing demonstrations.
But then there's Zunie, a 19-year-old Capuchin monkey dressed as a cowboy who charges $1 to shake hands.Intermittent crowds of giggling children and camera-snapping parents can be found around Zunie. She is trained to grab each dollar that is dangled in front of her, stick it in her pocket and then gingerly shake hands.“We've been out here every year for like 30 years,” said Zunie's owner, Tony Barbado, of Little Rock, who owns other performance monkeys as well.Across the fairgrounds near the arena is a station where festivalgoers can learn almost all there is to know about milking. But the cows at this fair don't say “moo.” They're female camels, aka cows.“We're the only place in the western hemisphere you can see camel milking,” said Nancy Riegler, owner of Oasis Camel Dairy based in San Diego County.Riegler and her husband, Gil, demonstrate camel milking to modest crowds twice a day.read more at:http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110224/LIFESTYLES0110/102240308/Riverside-County-Fair-National-Date-Festival-offers-multitude-unusual-performers-demonstrations?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage