Gettin' piggy with it

PALMER — Pigs flew at the Alaska State Fair.

Granted, it was around a racetrack, not through the air. Pigs have been flying around racetracks at the state fair for about eight years. On a Monday (Aug. 31) afternoon when the audience is heavy with pre-school-aged children (some of whom serve as “pig chasers”), the free pig races filled a small bandstand along the Fair’s Red Trail.

You might not think so based on the enthusiastic pig chasing and large number of families, but at least one part of the races has to be toned down when the pig races cross the Knik River bridge, said Lara McGinnis, the pigs’ trainer.

“In Ninilchik, on the Kenai Peninsula, they let us … bet on the pigs,” she said. “But up here they don’t let us bet on them.”

The pigs’ training involves tossing a favored treat over progressively long distances, McGinnis said. Like human athletes in the real world, a good racing pig can come from anywhere. What makes a good racing pig?

“A hungry pig,” McGinnis said. “You know, we’ve had different breeds that come in. Pigs are so smart. As soon as they understand bell rings, run, food — boom-boom-boom — they’ve got it.”

However, unlike most human athletes, the pigs will eventually serve as the guest of honor at a luau.

“They are available for sale after the fair,” she said.

The pig stars of the show — all six of them — fit into the back of a horse trailer. Setting up the spiral, white, fence-lined track takes about three hours and several volunteers, McGinnis said.

And because no racing of pigs would be complete without ample pork-based puns, the perennial state fair institution has added representatives from Anchorage-based TBA Theater, Inc. Their contribution involved humanizing the pigs using pop culture references. For example, when Lord Voldepork and Darth Bacon went head-to-head at the end of the 3 p.m. show, their names were the contribution of TBA artistic director Shane Mitchell and twin brother Wayne Mitchell.

Wayne joked that he was told to put on hand sanitizer to guard against avian flu at the animal exhibits.

“With avian flu, you need just the right ‘tweetment,’” he said. “Swine flu you can cure with a simple ‘oinkment.’”

The crowd groaned.

“The crowd’s turning against you Wayne,” Shane said. “There is active groaning and people are reaching for rocks.”

The Racing pigs can be viewed at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. at the KTVA 11 News Corral until September 5.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.