Nerger's in the News!

From iberkshire.com :

Tri-State Fair Features Circus Acts, Carnival Rides
Staff reports
iBerkshires
10:32PM / Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Photos by Paul Guillotte
Judit Nerger pats one of the white tiger cubs that will appear in the Nergers' Tigers and Lion Show at the Tri-State Fair this week. Top, two of the show's Bengals relax.
POWNAL, Vt. — The Tri-State Fair returns to the former Green Mountain Racetrack for the third year with five days of carnival rides, circus acts, music, food, vendors and more — including a pack of not-so-cuddly kitties.

Judit and Juergen Nerger have brought their big cat act to the Green Mountains with Nergers' Tigers and Lion. The couple, originally from Germany, have been training the big predators for three decades.

On Tuesday, the cats were mostly napping in the muggy heat. Come showtime, the 12 tigers and lone lion will be leaping through hoops, walking backwards on their legs, playing leapfrog and taking commands from tamer Juergen Nerger.

A tanned Judit Nerger, a tiger tattooed on her shoulder, stressed the animals' wild nature even as she patted one of three white tiger cubs in the troupe.

"These are trained animals, not tamed animals," said Nerger. "They are not pets. You could never have them as pets."

The cubs were rejected by their mother and raised by the Nergers. They'll turn a year old on Wednesday, the day the Tri-State Fair opens for its five-day run. The cubs will work with their Bengal teammates and the 10-year-old male lion, which gets along well with the Bengals, said Nerger.

The Nergers worked with the German State Circus in East Germany and Russia, and with the Circus Probst in Germany, Austria, Poland and France. They've traveled around the United States appearing at various circuses and events.

Training and caring for the big cats is a full-time job. And as much as the Nergers obviously love their dangerous charges, "never turn your back on them," Nerger warned. "They may trust us but we don't trust them."

The 12 tigers are joined in the show by a 10-year-old lion.

The Nergers' tigers are just one of the many attractions at this year's fair. There's musical events, vendors, food, pony rides, model airplane combat demonstrations, a motorcycle show, high-wire act, truck pulls, antique tractor pulls, classic cars, horse show, loads of carnival rides and bingo and Texas hold'em games. An American Indian troupe will demonstrate dancing and drumming along with arts, crafts and foods.

Wednesday night WUPE Radio will air live from 7 to 9 p.m. and offer a chance at a brand-new home through its "Home Free" contest.

Country-western duet Maria Rose and Danny Elswick will perform on Thursday at 7 p.m. and there'll be fireworks on Saturday night.

"We've got so much more this year," said organizer Joseph DiFusco of Hoosick Falls, N.Y.

The fair started as a benefit for the Knights of Columbus and now supports the San Damiano Family Support, run by the DiFusco and his wife, Wanda, and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The DiFuscoes, fellow Knight John Mills of Cambridge, N.Y., and Robert DeStefano of Dreamland Amusements are the lead organizers.

The fair opens at noon on Wednesday and runs through Sunday at 9 p.m. Admission is $30 per bus/carload on Wednesday. The price includes admission to all events and rides. From Thursday to Sunday, the price is $20 per person for all rides; ages 3 and under free. A $5 coupon is available off that ticket price.

Not interested in amusement rides? The price of admission is only $5 per person with access to all the shows and vendors (sorry, you can't use the coupon for that price). A full schedule is available here.

Photographer Paul Guillotte contributed to this report.
Rides being set up Tuesday for Wednesday's opening of the Tri-State Fair.

August Performer Spotlight - Johnny Peers & the Muttville Comix

What better way to celebrate the "Dog Days of Summer" than learning a little more about this months featured act: Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix. Johnny grew up on the road with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus where his father worked concessions. In 1970 he graduated from the famous Ringling Brothers Clown College where he developed his character in the style of Charlie Chaplin, who Johnny idolized.

In 1972 Johnny rescued his first dog "Freckles" from the Brewster Humane Society in New York. Freckles was a sweet little beagle mix who quickly picked up tricks even though Johnny knew very little about training dogs. She and Johnny soon worked out an act together.

In 1980 after adopting more dogs and learning better training techniques, Johnny introduced the Muttville Comix. Together they have toured from coast to coast and to four different continents. They have appeared on the David Letterman show, Prime-time Live, Circus Flora, Big Apple Circus, Royal Hanneford Circus, the Big E, the Vermont Balloon and Music Festival, and many fairs, festivals, July 4th Celebrations and stage appearances. In 2003 he won the $25,000 Grand Championship on Animal Planet's "Pet Star" season 1 with Mario Lopez.

Johnny's current line up of Muttville Comix include dogs who walk tight rope, climb ladders, skateboard, and generally get the best of Johnny. Dogs such as Daphne, the worlds only skateboarding Basset Hound, Squeaky the ladder climbing Fox Terrier, Mr. Pepe who only responds to commands in Spanish. There are 15 dogs in all in the show who eat over 50 pounds of dog food per week. When not on the road they are at home in Florida running around their fenced in yard just as any dog would.

We would recommend Johnny Peers for nearly any type of fair, festival, or special event. They are comfortable indoors or outside, on the ground or on a stage. The show is truly for the whole family and for the dog lover in all of us.