Riverside County Fair Countdown Begins
County Supervisor John Benoit will open the 66th annual Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival on Friday.
Benoit will attend opening ceremonies, including the traditional Blessing of the Dates, on Friday morning at Gate 1 of the fairgrounds in Indio. Local recording artist Deborah Liv Johnson will sing the national anthem, Benoit spokesman Darin Schemmer said.
Admission is free from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.
Later on Friday, Benoit’s 4th District Youth Advisory Council will oversee academic and athletic competitions among high school students from across the Coachella Valley, including teams from Cathedral City, Desert Mirage, La Quinta and Palm Desert. The Date Cup trophy goes to the winners, who will also get free tickets to the fair.
Country/pop star LeAnn Rimes will be the concert headliner Saturday.
The Battle of the Bands is set for Monday. Local bands set to play include Zeros of Coachella, Fly By Night of Temecula, One11 of La Quinta, Roadside Ghost of Riverside, and Over The Wall, Rotten Rooster and The Purple Gang.
The winners will get Fender equipment. The famed guitar maker has its primary plant in Corona and recently opened the Fender Center Museum.
The Presidents’ Day Grand Parade is also set for Monday. The grand marshal is Timothy “The Desert Storm” Bradley, a light welterweight boxer from the Coachella Valley set to take on Manny Paquiao June 9.
Feb, 23 will be Canada Day, owing to the county’s relationship with a Canadian business group, and anyone who can prove residency in Canada will be admitted to the festival for free.
The band Hot Chelle Rae will take the stage on Feb. 24, and Uncle Kracker will be headliner Feb. 25.
The fair attracts more than 300,000 visitors, and the county recently finished $2.1 million in improvements to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, the elderly and families with strollers, Schemmer said.
“The Date Festival is a great occasion for people around the valley, and across the county, to come together for a good time,” Benoit said.
The fair runs through Feb. 26. For information and tickets, go to www.datefest.org.
