LAKE PERRIS - The first pig race went off without a hitch.

Four little potbellies darted around a three-quarter track, to the delight of a couple dozen cheering children on the opening day of the Southern California Fair at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. One pig was so excited, he thrice attempted to jump over the tiny starting gates before the doors opened.

The second - and final afternoon - pig race Saturday wasn't the least bit worthy of highlights on SportsCenter; maybe a bloopers video, instead.

Not that it mattered. The kids again laughed, pointed and purred.

Two of the four pigs initially opted to eat feed rather than race their peers, who reached the finish line before the others even started. A third pig jogged about the track, but at least she finished with ease.

But pig No. 4, Sally, didn't quite master how to trot. Or which direction to go. She started, returned to the gates, ran toward the finish line, before deciding to eat again. She finally tiptoed to the finish.

"It was so funny, because they were eating instead of going to race," said Angelina Munoz, 9, of Moreno Valley.

The kids weren't the only ones watching race tracks.

Across the sprawling 108-acre fairgrounds, hundreds of monster truck fans, or "motorheads," roared as trax vehicles smashed into old, dilapidated cars - standing upside-down on stilts. The fair is at 18700 Lake Perris Drive.

"It's a rush of energy," said Breann Martin, 16, of San Jacinto. "It's like a football game - only a little louder."

Her 4-year-old niece, Hannah Jacks, wasn't as enthused.

It was Hannah's first monster trucks event, and she wasn't so keen on the engine's rumble or the jarring collision of vehicles. Breann cupped Hannah's ears.

The fair, which runs through next Sunday, is not limited to shows, however.

The Adventure Fun House is home to a costumed Spider-Man, an interactive Imagination Gallery and science exhibits.

Then, of course, there are the petting zoos, carnival rides and concerts. The Jonas Brothers are scheduled to perform Tuesday night, followed by cult parody singer Weird Al Yankovic on Wednesday.

Saturday, five teenagers from across the Hemet-San Jacinto valley and Riverside competed in the annual farmers' daughters contest. From a makeshift stage, they entertained their parents, friends and past entrants, who sat on bales of hay.

Together -- though not necessarily in unison - the girls half-sang, half-recited a song titled "Turkeys in the Straw," written in 1952 by the former principal at San Jacinto Elementary. It apparently is a fair tradition.

Nearby, kids and adults waited to ride an 8,500-pound elephant named Kitty.

"I want one of those," said an awed Dave Murray, 54, of Lake Matthews.

He didn't ride the 40-year-old elephant, however.

"I imagine it'd scare little kids," Murray said. "It'd scare me."

The Sandoval family wasn't frightened by the idea of the ride - or the ride itself.

But it wasn't a typical animal ride, said the father, Victor Sandoval, who joined his children, 6-year-old Unity and 4-year-old Eden, atop Kitty.

"It was fun," said Sandoval, 47, of Hemet. "I've never ridden on one before. It wasn't quite a horse."

Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com.