Banana Derby

Wednesday, July 6	6:00 & 8:00pm
Thursday, July 7	6:00 & 8:00pm
Friday, July 8	2:00, 4:00, 6:00 & 8:00pm
Saturday, July 9	2:00, 4:00, 6:00 & 8:00pm

If you enjoyed the racing pigs you are in for a treat! The Banana Derby brings "Americas Favorite Monkey Jockeys" Bobo, Bert and Gilligan, three Capuchin monkeys to Summer Celebration. Come to the midway and watch the monkeys riding dogs like jockeys, while the dogs race.

“In the banana derby, we combine man’s best friend and man’s closest relative,” said Philip Hendricks, who owns the show and calls himself the monkeys’ butler because they love to throw their clothes on the floor.

It’s not hard to train monkeys to ride dogs, Hendricks said. He starts by giving the dog a nice comfortable bed, and letting the monkey get comfortable sitting there, too, while he relaxes and watches TV.

“You just have to take your time, and do a lot of repetition a lot of positive reinforcement,” he said. The dogs and monkeys also get their favorite treats when they race. Right now, the monkeys’ favorite treats are mangoes.