ABOUT THE SHOWS

Valentines Performing pigs was a unique, fast-paced act that consisted of mini pigs doing tricks and incredible athletic feats on a very large stage. As music played, the dazzling swiners dance, jump in the air, play catch with the audience, run up teeter totters, slam dunk basketballs, pop balloons, roll barrels and madly roar across the stage on scooters and skateboards! The audiences go HOG WILD!

They have amazed, educated, and amused audiences at the largest fairs and sporting events all over the nation. A multi-fair entertainment review publication has given the act the highest possible rating (5) and it was described as "GREAT entertainment, good crowds"!

Their spectacular act was a top draw and appealed to all ages. The media adored the chubby celebrities, and would usually feature them in a newspaper spread or TV show that helped promote the event. Corporations like Microsoft hired the porkers for meetings, professional sports teams featured the athletic pigs at halftime, and schools hired the clever hams for assemblies. Fairs loved the pigs because they fit in with their animal theme and it is something that you don't see on TV every day! The adorable pigs would leave a smile on everyone's face!

By Amanda Arthur
The Daily Times-Call

LONGMONT - Hundreds of spectators went hog wild at the Boulder County Fair on Sunday as they watched the Valentines' Performing Pigs strut their stuff.

Steve and Priscilla Valentine, of Seattle, Wash., travel the country with their five "incredible porkers," surprising crowds with the intelligence of their trained pigs.

The couple has kept pigs as pets for 12 years, and if they play their cards right, Priscilla Valentine said, the swines can earn a special reward - their own room in the house.

With their snouts held high in the air, the troop - Nellie, Snort, Hambone, Tangerina and the Duchess of Pork, known as "Porky" - jumped through hoops, played their favorite sports and bowed for the crowd as hoards of children cheered them on.

"Snort! Snort! Snort!," the crowd chanted as the 2-year-old Asian miniature pig sought out a pair of chopsticks when asked which kind of eating utensil an Asian pig would use.

The crowd erupted when Porky, 5, a silver miniature pig, hung "16," - as pigs have 16 toes - riding a skateboard across the stage.

And when she performed her signature "ham dunk" while playing her favorite sport, children held their arms high, celebrating her score.

But the pigs don't just enjoy sports, Priscilla Valentine said.

Three-month-old Tangerina earns her keep at home in Washington by mowing the lawn, a skill she demonstrated on-stage.

Eight-week-old Hambone melted the hearts of fair-goers as he made his second-ever professional appearance Sunday.

Porky, described as the Duchess of Pork, skateboards Sunday during the Valentines Performing Pigs show at the Boulder County Fair. Times-Call photo by Lewis Geyer.

"He started his career yesterday," Priscilla Valentine informed the crowd as the tiny pig, wearing a bright red collar, scampered across the stage.

But the "star" of the show, Nellie, the world's pet pig champion, has the ability to wow crowds with a repertoire of 100 different tricks, Priscilla Valentine said.

Nellie has made appearances on the David Letterman show and Animal Planet.

Children giggled as Nellie placed her allowance, an oversized coin, into a large piggy bank.

And adults and children alike squealed with laughter when the pig retrieved a piece of mail from a large mail box. The letter read, "Eat Beef."

Andrew Bowman, 9, of Longmont said he didn't think when he woke up Sunday morning that he'd see a pig ride a skateboard.

His friend Daniel Russell, 10, of Longmont agreed and said he might find himself a bit upset if a pig were able to ride a skateboard better than him.

The pigs perform three times a day. They can be seen today at noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the Midway.

Amanda Arthur can be reached at 303-776-2244, Ext. 215, or by e-mail at aarthur@times-call.com.

The prancing, dancing oinkers were appropriate for ANY occasion that called for FUN!

No one could frown and be in a bad mood when a pig was making a football field goal and shooting hoops!

The crowds at fairs, schools, corporate events, media shoots, pet fairs, and malls were left hungering for more of the hams (but not in a literal sense)! Because the pigs are actually pets, they are perfect for pet fair entertainment. Corporate events loved the hoofers because they'd break up the boredom of conventions.

At malls, people just couldn't believe it when they heard a REAL slam-dunking pig would be visiting, so the crowds swamped the stores! The pigsters have graced NBA Basketball halftime shows, colleges, and even weddings.

Children ADORE the pigsters.

For advertising and TV promotion, they were ideal attention-getters, and were just downright cute.

If you wanted a show that people would be talking about for months, Valentines Performing Pigs were for you!

This was a large production with music that attracts standing room only crowds.

EVERYONE IS ALLOWED TO PET THE PIGS!

ALL SHOWS INCLUDED "NELLIE", WORLD PIG TRICK CHAMPION AND FINALIST FOR THE $25,00O PRIZE IN ANIMAL PLANET'S PET STAR.

The famous pigs were perfectly housetrained and were USDA licensed and insured for one million dollars.