Shields Date Garden, a 17-acre farm founded in 1924, is a monument to the versatility of the date palm, a case study in midcentury marketing savvy, a repository of Christian statuary and a fine site for roadside signage. Look for the tall blue knight with the bright yellow shield.

This combination keeps the place remarkably busy, including its old-fashioned shake counter ($9.15 for 21 ounces of cool desert sweetness); its retail shop; its sprawling outdoor café; and the 105-seat theater which screens a slide show daily on “The Romance and Sex Life of the Date.” The slide show (which explains the subtle points of date palm cultivation) goes back to the early 1950s, when co-founder Floyd Shields was looking for a new way to lure more visitors.

These days, the slide show vies for visitors with the Walk, a path through the palms to statuary illustrating 14 scenes from the life of Christ. The statuary arrived about 10 years ago, having been relocated from a biblical garden in Vancouver, Canada. The fee for strolling the Walk is $5 per adult, children 12 and under free.

Besides shakes, the Cafe at Shields offers homemade tamales, beer, mimosas, chavelas, chicken and waffles, many fruity snacks (date butter, date jam, date cake, date syrup, date crystal-infused coffee…) and many vegetarian and gluten-free options. It serves breakfast and lunch, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.