National Date Festival

A little rock 'n' roll, a dash of country fair and a whole lot of casbah came to Indio on Friday, when the desert city opened its 42nd annual National Date Festival. It's an unusual fair that celebrates the end of the harvest season of an unusual fruit. Where else could you watch camel and ostrich races, view a play based on "Tales of the Arabian Nights," take part in a tamale cook-off and bid on 600-pound hogs--all while sipping a date milkshake?

The glare from the desert sand could blind a camel. Exotic date palms thrive in clusters, each appearing like an oasis in the heat, a shelter from the unknowns of the barren desert. In what looks like a marketplace, minarets and stone arches decorate the skyline. There are buildings with Moorish architecture, towns named Mecca and Oasis, streets named Arabia and Deglet Noor, city signs written in Arabic script, and high school teams called the Arabs and the Rajahs.

The glare from the desert sand could blind a camel. Exotic date palms thrive in clusters, each appearing like an oasis in the heat, a shelter from the unknowns of the barren desert. In what looks like a marketplace, minarets and stone arches decorate the skyline. There are buildings with Moorish architecture, towns named Mecca and Oasis, streets named Arabia and Deglet Noor, city signs written in Arabic script, and high school teams called the Arabs and the Rajahs.

There are hundreds of county fairs across the nation, but none is quite like the annual exposition that began Friday in Indio. The main attractions at Riverside County's National Date Festival are ostrich and camel races, followed by the showy musical pageant that's billed as an "Arabian Nights Fantasy." Even the fairground is one of a kind, with oases of palm trees and Moorish-style buildings decked out with domes, minarets and keyhole-shaped doorways.

There are hundreds of county fairs across the nation, but none is quite like the annual exposition that began Friday in Indio. The main attractions at Riverside County's National Date Festival are ostrich and camel races, followed by the showy musical pageant that's billed as an "Arabian Nights Fantasy." Even the fairground is one of a kind, with oases of palm trees and Moorish-style buildings decked out with domes, minarets and keyhole-shaped doorways.

Bernard Johnson brought back more than souvenirs from his trip to Algeria in 1903. His baggage contained offshoots from that North African country's famous date palms. He planted them in the Coachella Valley, the beginning of a commercial agricultural venture that has made California this nation's major producer of that prized fruit. And because the valley is home to 95% of the state's date crop, it's been proclaimed the Date Capital of the United States.

Santa Ana Valley High School won first place in drill team competition at the recent National Date Festival in Indio. The school also won second place for tall flags, third for drum major and fifth for marching band. "When ideas fail, words come in very handy." --Goethe (1749-1832)

* Greenberg's Great Train, Dollhouse and Toy Show--Collectible toys from Lionel trains, above, to Hot Wheels will be on display Saturday and Sunday in Orange County Fairgrounds. * Remembrance of Abraham Lincoln--Actor Charlton Heston and author Ray Bradbury will read and speak at today's sixth annual event in Los Angeles National Cemetery, Westwood. * Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival--Exhibits, a livestock auction and petting zoo highlight festivities today through Feb.

Take the whole family to the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival, which features live animals, monster truck shows and performances by Third Eye Blind, Kellie Pickler and more. Admission is free for part of the first day. Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82-503 Highway 111, Indio. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Feb. 27 (weekends open to midnight.) $8 for adults. (760) 863-8247. http://www.datefest.org.

Ostrich and camel jockeys, monster trucks, swine sprints (pictured), music headliners -- the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival has a little something for everyone. And the nine-day shindig owes it all to the humble date, the fruit of the date palm, first brought to the U.S. in 1903 from Algeria and planted in the Coachella Valley. The harvest-celebrating Date Festival was inaugurated in Indio in 1921.

A little rock 'n' roll, a dash of country fair and a whole lot of casbah came to Indio on Friday, when the desert city opened its 42nd annual National Date Festival. It's an unusual fair that celebrates the end of the harvest season of an unusual fruit. Where else could you watch camel and ostrich races, view a play based on "Tales of the Arabian Nights," take part in a tamale cook-off and bid on 600-pound hogs--all while sipping a date milkshake?

Bernard Johnson brought back more than souvenirs from his trip to Algeria in 1903. His baggage contained offshoots from that North African country's famous date palms. He planted them in the Coachella Valley, the beginning of a commercial agricultural venture that has made California this nation's major producer of that prized fruit. And because the valley is home to 95% of the state's date crop, it's been proclaimed the Date Capital of the United States.

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It's not unusual to see camels kicking up dirt at Indio's Desert ExpoCentre. Camel races have been a part of Riverside County's National Date Festival since it began 45 years ago. But it took a war in the Middle East for the one-humped creatures to find their place in the Indio sun. In the past, competitions between the desert beasts have not been terribly popular, but sold-out crowds of 3,500 packed the arena for the races' 10-day run this year, said festival spokesman Bill Arballo.