For Steven and Priscilla Valentine as well as Nellie, the star of the Valentine’s small traveling circus, a visit to Bothell’s Country Village Harvest Festival is always sort of a homecoming.

Back in 1993, that star, now 14 years old, first took to the stage and won the top prize in a pet contest. Someone in the audience saw her act and offered Nellie’s friend and trainer Priscilla Valentine $100 to bring Nellie to a birthday party.

“She literally brought home the bacon,” said Priscilla Valentine, who obviously isn’t above a pun and also acts the ring leader for Valentine’s Performing Pigs, putting Nellie and her short, portly companions through their porcine paces.

Besides Nellie, the grand old lady of the troop, Valentine’s Performing Pigs include Snort, Pentunia and Nelliebelle. The Vietnamese pot bellied pigs jumped through hoops, played catch, rode skateboards, blew horns and generally clowned around on the main stage of the village Harvest Festival on Oct. 11.

According to Priscilla Valentine, Nellie and the Valentines’ careers in show business really began when Nellie apparently got hungry, which one might think of as kind of an apt starting point for a performer of her particular species.

“She just started opening the refrigerator and helping herself to some food,” said Valentine, adding that Nellie would, even more impressively, move a chair so that she could climb up into cupboards in search of more snacks. Valentine said at some point it dawned on her that she probably could teach Nellie a few tricks.

“I taught her to sit and took it took about two minutes and we were off and running,” Valentine said, adding she never thought teaching Nellie to sit would lead to a new career for her and her husband.

Since that initial appearance at Country Village, Nellie and the rest of Valentine’s Performing Pigs have appeared at birthday parties, weddings, corporate events, various grand openings and hundreds of other venues.

“We’ve done everything but funerals,” Valentine said.

Not incidentally, they’ve also shown up on late night TV with Jay Leno and David Letterman as well as putting in an appearance with Oprah Winfrey. Nellie won the $10,000 grand prize on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

“Jay Leno treated us like kings and queens,” Valentine said, adding that Nellie got her own green room, complete with food and, believe it or not, a bartender.

For the Letterman show, Nellie appeared solo during a segment of the host’s well-known “Stupid Pet Tricks.” Priscilla Valentine generally acts as ringleader on stage, but Steve Valentine took over for the Letterman show.

“I refused to fly all the way to New York for one trick,” Priscilla said.

For Letterman, Nellie pulled out her bowling ball, just as she did during the recent Country Village show. She missed a few pins in both cases, but drew chuckles from the crowd when she trotted over and up ended any remaining pins with her snout.

Besides the four performing pigs, the Valentines have nine other porcine pets, who at full-size are about as big as a medium-sized dog. As Nellie did right from the beginning, the performers live in the Valentine home in Gig Harbor and even have their own rooms. Valentine said the animals are completely housebroken and, contrary to the reputation of most pigs, very clean.

Though he took over for the Letterman show, Steve Valentine seems to like to stay sort of in the background, definitely letting his wife do most of the talking.

“I’m kind of the roadie, you might say,” Steve said.

The pigs are popular enough that they have long since been the Valentine’s main source of income. Steve was able to retire from his day job back in 1999.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to earn money doing something you really enjoy,” Priscilla said.

As for their charges, Priscilla likes to think they are happy as well. She said when they are not performing, they have plenty of time to do what they really do best: eat and sleep.

“They are members of the family,” Valentine said.

Pigs put on a show in Bothell

For Steven and Priscilla Valentine as well as Nellie, the star of the Valentine’s small traveling circus, a visit to Bothell’s Country Village Harvest Festival is always sort of a homecoming.

Back in 1993, that star, now 14 years old, first took to the stage and won the top prize in a pet contest. Someone in the audience saw her act and offered Nellie’s friend and trainer Priscilla Valentine $100 to bring Nellie to a birthday party.

“She literally brought home the bacon,” said Priscilla Valentine, who obviously isn’t above a pun and also acts the ring leader for Valentine’s Performing Pigs, putting Nellie and her short, portly companions through their porcine paces.

Besides Nellie, the grand old lady of the troop, Valentine’s Performing Pigs include Snort, Pentunia and Nelliebelle. The Vietnamese pot bellied pigs jumped through hoops, played catch, rode skateboards, blew horns and generally clowned around on the main stage of the village Harvest Festival on Oct. 11.

According to Priscilla Valentine, Nellie and the Valentines’ careers in show business really began when Nellie apparently got hungry, which one might think of as kind of an apt starting point for a performer of her particular species.

“She just started opening the refrigerator and helping herself to some food,” said Valentine, adding that Nellie would, even more impressively, move a chair so that she could climb up into cupboards in search of more snacks. Valentine said at some point it dawned on her that she probably could teach Nellie a few tricks.

“I taught her to sit and took it took about two minutes and we were off and running,” Valentine said, adding she never thought teaching Nellie to sit would lead to a new career for her and her husband.

Since that initial appearance at Country Village, Nellie and the rest of Valentine’s Performing Pigs have appeared at birthday parties, weddings, corporate events, various grand openings and hundreds of other venues.

“We’ve done everything but funerals,” Valentine said.

Not incidentally, they’ve also shown up on late night TV with Jay Leno and David Letterman as well as putting in an appearance with Oprah Winfrey. Nellie won the $10,000 grand prize on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

“Jay Leno treated us like kings and queens,” Valentine said, adding that Nellie got her own green room, complete with food and, believe it or not, a bartender.

For the Letterman show, Nellie appeared solo during a segment of the host’s well-known “Stupid Pet Tricks.” Priscilla Valentine generally acts as ringleader on stage, but Steve Valentine took over for the Letterman show.

“I refused to fly all the way to New York for one trick,” Priscilla said.

For Letterman, Nellie pulled out her bowling ball, just as she did during the recent Country Village show. She missed a few pins in both cases, but drew chuckles from the crowd when she trotted over and up ended any remaining pins with her snout.

Besides the four performing pigs, the Valentines have nine other porcine pets, who at full-size are about as big as a medium-sized dog. As Nellie did right from the beginning, the performers live in the Valentine home in Gig Harbor and even have their own rooms. Valentine said the animals are completely housebroken and, contrary to the reputation of most pigs, very clean.

Though he took over for the Letterman show, Steve Valentine seems to like to stay sort of in the background, definitely letting his wife do most of the talking.

“I’m kind of the roadie, you might say,” Steve said.

The pigs are popular enough that they have long since been the Valentine’s main source of income. Steve was able to retire from his day job back in 1999.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to earn money doing something you really enjoy,” Priscilla said.

As for their charges, Priscilla likes to think they are happy as well. She said when they are not performing, they have plenty of time to do what they really do best: eat and sleep.

“They are members of the family,” Valentine said.