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The Rainforest Experience will perform three shows daily through Saturday at the North Dakota State Fair.

Shows are at 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at the free stage located in front of the State Fair Center. State Farm sponsors the 30-minute shows and a display that includes opportunities to view rain forest wildlife such as a macaw, python, kinkajou, ring-tailed lemur, coatimundi and two-toed sloth.

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Barry DeVoll can't make destroyed rainforests magically reappear, but magic is one tool that he has up his sleeve for educating people about rainforests and the need to save them.

DeVoll, a magician and comedian, is production coordinator for The Blue Trunk, an organization that is bringing the Rainforest Experience to the North Dakota State Fair.

Under the green lights inside the show tent, DeVoll becomes "Bixby," a spike-haired, clownish character with a serious message.

"Every two seconds that passes on your clock, 60 acres of rainforest is being chopped down," he said. "The animals that live in this forest have to move or they die with it."

As Bixby, DeVoll uses a puppet, magic and comedy to entertain the crowd while dispensing information about rainforests and encouraging people to recycle. He gets help from a Burmese python named Ally, a macaw named Juan, a kinkajou named Tiktau and a few children pulled out of the audience.

No hands went up during a Tuesday show when he called for a brave volunteer to assist with Ally. He did persuade a little girl to come forward to touch the python. She even mustered a tentative smile when he surprised her by depositing the snake in her arms and snapping a photo.

There also were gasps from the audience when DeVoll mentioned that pythons can grow to 22 feet and 250 pounds.

Colorful Juan captivated the audience as DeVoll walked the aisle with the bird and then released him for a brief flight. The crowd's quiet reserve wasn't quite what DeVoll was seeking, though.

"It appears the people of North Dakota see this every day," DeVoll teased, releasing the bird again and eliciting the desired applause.

DeVoll also educates audiences on ownership of exotic animals. He suggests they not try to obtain rainforest animals as pets.

"The fact is they are very hard to take care of. They are very needy in time and expense," he said. Feeding one macaw can cost $2,000 a year, and the bird can live 50 years, he said.

He works with zoological staff and a veterinarian in caring for his exotic animals.

DeVoll's passion for animals and saving the environment led him to found The Blue Trunk five years ago. A magician since he was 10, DeVoll brought that talent into the development of a curriculum-quality program for schools.

"I wanted something that was going to be educational but also entertaining for them," he said. "I want to inspire people and get them feeling good about themselves."

The Blue Trunk's school assemblies include Character Counts, weather and nutrition as well the rainforest production.

The Blue Trunk initially offered educational assembly productions to elementary schools in the Midwest. The project expanded nationwide and last year added a fair circuit, which raises money to subsidize productions in rural schools that otherwise could not afford the shows.

DeVoll spent two years researching for his first rainforest show. The show constantly changes, and the research never ends, said DeVoll, who visited a rainforest in Puerto Rico and hopes to eventually travel to the South American Amazon.