Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
The Celebration Stage hosts many of the fair's performances
|
|
| Genre | County fair, Fair, Food Festival |
| Date(s) | 13 days (mid February to early March) |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Location(s) | Indio, California |
| Years active | 78 (at Riverside County Fairgrounds) |
| Inaugurated | 1921 (at Indio City Park) |
| Organised by | Riverside County Economic Development Agency Pickering Events LLC |
The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival is a super fun event that happens every year in Indio, California. It's a big celebration of the Date Palm harvest in the Coachella Valley. Imagine a huge party for dates! This festival has been going on since 1947 and takes place in February. Indio is a city in the desert, about 130 miles (209 km) east of Los Angeles.
The Coachella Valley is a special place where about 250,000 date palm trees grow. These trees produce a massive 35 million pounds of dates every year! That's a lot of dates! In fact, this area grows 95% of all the dates in the United States.
The Date Festival has more than 7,000 exhibits and competitions. Many of these are about dates and the fruit itself. The festival also features musicians, comedians, and even monster trucks and bull-riding shows! It's a really exciting event with something for everyone.
The Indio Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, and private security teams work together to keep everyone safe at the fair.
Contents
History of the Date Festival
The fair began as a way to celebrate the end of the yearly date harvest. This desert region in Southern California is the main place where dates are grown in the Western Hemisphere. Dates were not well-known in the desert until 1903. That's when date palms were brought there from Algeria. By the early 1920s, dates became a very important crop for the area. The date groves in the Coachella Valley also became popular places for tourists to visit.
How the Fair Started
Because the date gardens were so popular, people got the idea for the first Date Festival. It happened in 1921 in Indio's city park. A second festival was held the next year. Sixteen years later, a third Date Festival took place. This time, it was called the Riverside County Fair and the Coachella Valley Date Festival. A local group, the Indio Civic Club, helped organize it.
That year, 72 booths showed off their exhibits, and about 5,000 people attended. It was also the first time a street parade was part of the fun. In 1936, Western themes were popular. So, the Fair had a Western feel, with cowboy hats and rodeo events.
Fairgrounds and Themes
In 1940, Riverside County bought the land where the fair is held today. The first 40 acres (0.16 km²) cost $10,000. Over the years, more land was bought, including a date grove. Today, the fairgrounds cover 120 acres (0.49 km²).
When World War II began, all fairs in California stopped. After the war ended, Robert M.C. Fullenwider was hired to manage the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival. He introduced an "Arabian Nights" theme. This theme connected to the desert region and the date industry.
Recent Years
The fair did not happen from 1923 to 1937, and again from 1942 to 1945. More recently, it was also paused in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2022, a smaller event called "Thrillville" still took place, which had a carnival.
In June 2022, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors made a plan with Pickering Events LLC. This plan was to bring the Date Festival back to Indio every year. This agreement helped bring back the fair and also provided money to make the fairgrounds better. Supervisor Manuel Pérez shared this exciting news.
Supervisor Pérez also announced that the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival returned as a full-scale event from February 17-26, 2023.
“This is great for the City of Indio, the Coachella Valley and Riverside County and for the future of the National Date Festival,” Supervisor Pérez said. “Riverside County and the Fair Board look forward to being partners with Pickering in bringing the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival back for the community, as well as attracting events to increase use of the Fairgrounds for the community and families.”
.jpg)
In 2025, the Fair & Date Fest was made even longer, running for 13 days. It started the Thursday before President's Day and went until March 2nd. The fair was open Thursday through Sunday each week, plus on President's Day.
Scholarship Program
.jpg)
For many years, the fair had a scholarship pageant called "Queen Scheherazade." Students from Riverside County would compete to win money for college. The winner would also act as a "goodwill ambassador" for the fair.
In 2023, the fair changed this program. It is now called the Date Festival Scholarship Program. This scholarship is open to both male and female high school students in Riverside County. They must be planning to attend college in the next school year. At least 10 students are given a $2,000 scholarship each.
See also
