RivCo Fair & National Date Festival kicks off this weekend
Now in its 64th year, the Fair is a high-profile ten-day event that features a series of headliner entertainers, monster truck shows, big air motorcycles, cooking shows, a livestock auction, over 200 exhibitors, and more ... including dates ...
Monday, February 8, 2010
The annual Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival comes to Indio Feb. 12-21, and the event offers family entertainment that’s steeped in history. (Courtesy photo)
The annual Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival comes to Indio Feb. 12-21, and the event offers family entertainment that’s steeped in history.
Now in its 64th year, the Fair is a high-profile ten-day event that features a series of headliner entertainers, monster truck shows, big air motorcycles, cooking shows, a livestock auction, over 200 exhibitors, and more … including dates …
The fair, which started in the early 1920s has grown into a mega event, complete with livestock auctions, food, a carnival and much more. According to a news release from the Fair and National Date Festival Press Office, the concept of this fair all began with dates and celebrates the end of the annual date harvest in the desert region, the major commercial date-producing area in the western hemisphere.
Dates were an unknown commodity in the desert until 1903 when date palms were transplanted there from Algeria, event officials said in the news release. Eventually, enough acreage was planted to make dates a major crop for the area. Date groves in the Coachella Valley were such a novelty that they became a tourist attraction.
With the popularity of the date gardens, the idea was planted for the first Date Festival in 1921 to be held in Indio’s city park. A second event was held the following year, but enthusiasm drifted off and the annual Date Festival died, event officials said.
It wasn’t until 16 years later that the idea came forth again and the third Date Festival was held, this time under the name of the Riverside County Fair and the Coachella Valley Date Festival, run by the Indio Civic Club, under contract from the County Board of Supervisors.
That year there were 72 booths exhibited and attendance reached 5,000, according to the news release, and it was also the first year that a street parade was staged. In 1936 the Western lifestyle was in vogue, so the fair took on the flavor of the day complete with rodeo events.
In 1940 Riverside County bought the present fairgrounds — 40 acres for $10,000. Years later the grounds were expanded with the purchase of an additional 40 acres, including the date grove that exists on the fairgrounds today. All totaled, the fairgrounds now cover 120-acres.
When World War II started all fairs in California were halted, but once the war ended, Robert M.C. Fullenwider was hired to manage the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival, event officials said. He envisioned an “Arabian Nights” theme tying in with the desert region and date industry.
During the early years, buildings with an Arabic motif were constructed and within two years an Arabian Nights Pageant, Queen Scheherazade contest, National Horse Show and an expanded gem and mineral show were added.
Admission to the festival is free from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. opening day. On Feb. 17, kids 5-12-year-old are free with every paying adult. Fantasy $5 Friday is Feb. 19.
For ticket purchase or price information visit www.datefest.org.
Toni McAllister is SWRNN’s lifestyles editor. She can be reached at toni.mcallister@yahoo.com.
Tags: Date Festival, Riverside County Fair & Natioanl Date Festivall, SWRNN, Toni McAllister
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