PNE and Playland Family Pass Giveaway
bySince before I could walk, I’ve been going to the Pacific National Exhibition with my family. I remember piling into the family van, driving for what seemed to be all morning, then taking the Hastings exit of Highway 1 past Empire Stadium and into the fair parking lots. Then, from my stroller, I would watch as my big brother and sister rode the rides that I was too small to enjoy.
When the helicopter ride (which I thought simply went in circles) lifted itself off the ground I cried so hard that I was promptly returned to my stroller. I was only to be consoled with a warm, fresh, blueberry scone from the food pavilion.
The log ride was a staple, as were the bumper cars and when I was older (err… taller) the Coaster was the ultimate rush. I rode the Super Big Gulp and dozens of other rides that have come and gone over the years.
Our family would walk through the stables, get our Polaroids taken in front of green-screened combat equipment at the Armed Forces pavilion, and point out where we lived on the giant relief map of the province in the BC Pavilion. When we would return to the van after an action-packed day we’d have swag bags full of stickers, brochures, and our PNE buttons (which we made sure to collect every single year from guest services).
Of course my teenage years at Playland and the PNE with friends garnered different experiences. These involved ogling axe-swingers at the lumberjack competition or demolition derby, riding the Enterprise in a car all by yourself, playing mini golf like Happy Gilmore, and heading to the Petro-Can to get someone’s queasy stomach a dose of Pepto Bismol.
Each trip with friends, family, and familiar faces made for new memories, which at this point are endless. Now in its 99th year, the Fair at the PNE is offering up even more “free with admission” fun for all while celebrating 50 years of the old wooden (world famous) coaster.
Some PNE and Playland fast facts:
In order to help you create and pass on the joy of a day out at the PNE, I approached them to put together this contest. I’m giving away a family pack of tickets which includes 4 gate admission tickets along with 4 all-day ride passes for Playland.
To enter to win the family pack, leave a comment below including one of your favourite PNE or Playland memories. If you can fit all of that into 140 characters, re-tweets will also be accepted. Alternatively, if you’ve never been, you can just explain why you would want to go. I’ll draw the winner on Friday August 21st. The winner will have 24 hours to confirm as the passes, and the Fair, will only be around from August 22nd until September 7th, 2009.
Update: I drew the winner and it’s maria b – thanks to everyone for sharing some great memories and if you’re up for a tweetup or group day at Playland or the PNE, I’m in!
94 Comments — Comments Are Closed
My 7 and 4 year old have become quit the thrill junkies and love the rides at playland. Fun for everyone.
I remember the Mighty Mouse, and how scared I was when the car would hit one of those corners. I thought I’d fly off the tracks and into the demolition derby below.
That, and the Pirate Ship. I swore I heard “Magic Carpet Ride” playing almost everytime 🙂
M.
I remember taking my little brother to the P.N.E. when he was a year old (I was twelve), and watching with delight as his eyes got SO BIG watching the rides go around, and the farm animals. He took his first steps outside the farm animals’ barn at the P.N.E. that year!
Great pics , and good article, I could smell the onions frying…
I took my sons a couple years ago, and just adored watching them in the house of mirrors. It was always my favourite thing at the fair where I grew up. Of course, if we won your pass, I’m sure now that they’re a bit older they’ll like the scary rides more than the mirrors.
I went every year when I was a teenager, and finally got to take my kids (4&6) last summer. They went on every ride for their age, and loved it, the little adrenaline junkies that they are. We’re definitely going again!
Thanks for your post adding your own memories. It brought back a lot of my own. Some of my fave moments came when I was tall enough to ride by myself on rides my little sister couldn’t go on. I felt like I went through a rite of passage! Highlights include the “big kid coaster” and the Mighty Mouse.
I would love to get some passes to create new memories with my own son.
Thanks!!
I worked at PNE one year and across the aisle was this cute girl working at another booth. A few weeks went by making friendly hi’s & oggling her, she’d smile and check me out in return. I never had the nerve to actually walk over and speak with her, until the very last day…
I walked over, introduced myself and she suddenly turned on me and said; “after all these days you decide to finally come over on the last day and say Hi… Well, too late and I don’t think so” – She promptly turned her back on me and walked away. “Ouch, burn!”
Personally I think it was the burgundy polyester pants I was wearing…
Anyways, I learnt a lesson that day… You snooze you lose!
If I win these passes I would give them to friends of mine who are a family that needs more smiles 🙂
The first time my family went, I was screaming so loudly in terror on the rainbow ride that the operator stopped it so I could get off. I’m pretty sure I was the definition of “spazz out.”
Best memory: my brother & I rode the coaster 46x nonstop. No joke. Every car from front to back. Then on the log ride 23x to cool off. That plus cotton candy & popcorn – best childhood. Now to pass it to my little ones…
Going on the wooden roller coaster each year and flying out of the seat! Best ride at PNE!
My favorite memory is getting our picture taken going down the log ride, sounds cheesy I know. I’ve been going to the PNE with my mom and 2 younger sisters ever since we moved to BC in 1997, and we’ve been collecting these pictures since then. This year will be the 12th picture to add to our collection.
I’m addicted to the mini-donuts & candied apples at Playland! My fave ride was the log ride -my friends & I got SOAKED last time we went! 🙂
I don’t have 1 “best memory’ per se, but I never get tired of the old wooden coaster. Love that thing.
Would be a great opportunity to take the family, and see what my 16 month old thinks of it (in general, not the coaster 🙂 )
My favorite Playland memory: Think back 15 years, Joyride by Roxette was the hit song of the day, I was in grade nine, my buck teeth were being pulled in to place by braces and headgear, my Ikeda overalls were tight rolled over my Keds, and my bangs were sticking up and to the side with the help of Joico Ice Mist. My friends and I desperately wanted to get to Playland, which was a challenge being that we were in Richmond, and Playland is in Vancouver. We wanted to ride the rides and meet boys! We got ourselves on the 401 and down to the gates of the PNE. We felt exhilarated by the swings, the coaster, the pirate ship and my all-time favorite, the music machine! We bought minis donuts and went to see the smash up derby and the super dogs. This was followed by foot-long hotdogs and fresh squeezed lemonade. It was awesome, and it still is! I plan on taking my son on Monday to create a new generation of memories and these passes would free up cash for all the other great things we could experience at the PNE.
The Fair has been a nice tradition for me and the boyfriend to go to in the three years we’ve been together. It really strikes me in a warm-and-fuzzy way the country fair, down-to-earth atmosphere that The Fair has. As for Playland, I’ve never been to and I’d like to take a few friends for “one last ride” before we officially retire begging off without old age!
My favourite memory from the PNE as a child (and it still remains!) is visiting the petting zoo. I love being able to take pictures of all the cute and furry friends of the fair. It’s still as entertaining as when I was 5 years old!
I just moved to Vancouver about 3 weeks ago so I’ve never been to the PNE. Would be awesome to get to go for free 🙂
Who can forget over stuffing yourself with mini donuts before getting on the old wooden roller coaster. Kept it all down, but barely!!
It’s been decades since I last went to the PNE, even though I can hear, see, and occasionally catch a whiff of the fair’s presence from my in-law’s home. Perhaps it’s time to acquaint a new generation, my own children, with this historical aspect of Vancouver life. And perhaps I’ll be able to ride that roller coaster for just the second time, and get over the “terror” I had when riding it just the once so long ago. Does anyone remember the Spiro Tower? There’s a warmer memory.
Mini donuts, Super dogs, Dream Home, Roller coaster, more mini-donuts, Shammy cloths at the marketplace, World’s largest bull, even more mini-donuts and a teeny tiny bit of gambling. Oh, did I mention the donuts!?!
I’m constantly poor, so I would love to get free tickets!!! Keeping it real! 😉
Last year was my first visit to the PNE. I went with my best friend and her husband. I actually threw up after one of the rides, but that didn’t stop me from eating a deep fried chocolate bar after =)
I used to love the international food building, Canadianized ethnic fast food from around the world, sort of 🙂 And I looked forward to going to the round building (that had the big-ass map of BC) with all the modelers and their model trains and planes and cars on display. Going back every now and then for mini donuts and the roller coaster is fun and brings back those other great memories.
My favourite memory from childhood is my Dad taking me on the Tilt-a-whirl. I was screaming with laughter during the whole ride, and my Dad couldn’t stop howling, too. It is by far, my most vivid memory of my Dad when he was alive… I’d love to take my fiance there to have a similar experience! Thanks for such a fun contest, Rebecca!
I’ve been to playland only once and never to the PNE (!). I’d love to check it out – I’ve heard from so many people who grew up in Vancouver that it’s a staple of their childhood. Sounds like good times, old skool style. Free passes mean I could blow all my money trying to win toys in playland too!
My favourite memory is over the giant slide they used to have, always slide down that with my dad 🙂
Begged to ride the Rainbow when I was 6, then screamed “LET ME OFF!!!” the whole ride, or at least every time we would near the ground. Want to try again so I can redeem myself and keep my cool, along with hubby and kids to show what a big girl I am now.
No-one can spin the strawberries like Duane and I. Have had people ask me to spin em only to ask to stop real quick. My 2 1/2 daughter loves the children’s roller coaster
I fell in love at Playland, four years ago. It was my second date with someone I had met through an online dating site. We were having fun, but I wasn’t totally convinced that I wanted a third date — until we went on the Hellevator. My date freaked the hell out — he screamed the entire time, and it took him a good ten minutes afterward until he could walk again. There was no macho BS, no denying that the ride scared him or making excuses… and that was it; I fell hard. And he’s now my husband… 🙂
As a kid I liked the petting zoo a lot! I remember being amazed that someone’s job was to scoop up the animal’s poo. I was equally surprised at how much elephants pooped.
I loved wandering through the PNE prize home with my parents, checking out all the cool gadgets for sale in the Marketplace pavillion and of course overindulging on mini donuts and cotton candy!
I’d love to take my girls to experience the fun of the fair. They are only 3 and 1 but I think they’d enjoy it 🙂
Hard to choose just one, so I’ll declare it a tie between Richard’s Racers [the pig and duck races] and bumper cars with my lovely bride. Cheapest, most effective marital therapy around.
Great pictures! My first Playland experience was about 10 years ago. I was living in Ireland and came to Vancouver for the first time to visit some friends. I literally got off the plane and was taken to Playland to meet up with my friends. Jet lag and rollercoasters is a great combination!!
My son is just about old enough now so I look forward to taking him.
Thanks for another great competition.
I loved spending time with my family going to all the shows and feasting on cotton candy and candy apples and popcorn! Superdogs were our favourite show to watch!
My favorite memory was getting lost….ok that wasn’t my favorite memory! But i definetly was so happy when I found my family again! Ahh the PNE brings back great memories for sure!
I recall just riding the rollercoaster for nearly two hours straight, it was a quiet day and we could ride it over in over again with barely a wait, run around, ride, run around, ride. We were exhillerated. I think I was 11 or 12. Never forget that.
I remember being super annoyed at you for making them stop the helicopters so you could get off. Our ride was cut short and we didn’t get another one (the days before all day ride passes). Also, our outfits are rockin’ in the last photo.
@Robin Cook, I think I wore the exact same outfit. Hairsprayed bangs and all
Favourite memory would have to be eating the donuts while watching the pigs eat the donuts – like looking in the mirror! Love Playland so much that I decided to celebrate my birthday there two weeks ago. Even blogged about the experience here: http://www.roshenahuang.com/2009/08/denial-is-my-favourite-stage-of-grief/
I am not a nostalgic person, but somehow…every year…The PNE gets the best of me.
Dal Richards has always been one of my favourite parts of the PNE. I’m a jazz, swing, and big band enthusiast so seeing a living legend of local music is always amazing to me! I remember one time when Dal and his orchestra were up on the stage at The PNE, they started playing Benny Goodman’s “Flying Home”. Being one of my favourite songs, I had to get up and dance! My friend and I got up and started some Lindy Hop right by the stage. Within a few bars, we had a group of people around us cheering us on! At the end of the number, Dal made sure to give us kudos on our dancing. What a guy.
I will never forget the good old days of little or no restraint system on the pirate ship. I idolized the crazy teenagers who would stand up and hang their arms and legs out the sides with nothing but a simple lap bar to hold them in.
The PNE is fun, but it was much much better when I was little. My family and I would go through all the buildings. The Showcase Bldg. The Food Pavilion, The BC Bldg. which housed that giant map of BC and the Sports Hall of Fame. You could pick up a free tote bag, and collect tons of free stuff from everywhere. Bags of it. And by the way, Becky, they were not blueberry scones, they were plain scones with raspberry jam, and still buy them every year. I have been going to the PNE every year since I was about 8 years old, and the only year we all missed it was when Expo was here.
Love the old school snaps
I have to start out by saying the wooden coaster ( note I do not use the word ” old” ) is the same age that I am….I prefer to refer to ourselves as being ” retro” 1958!!.. Therefore I must go every year to revisit an old friend and of course ride not once, but 3x the coaster, it must be experienced riding in the first seat, where you get thrown right out of your seat, last seat, where you get a good dose of whiplash and the nice tame ” middle” . Arms raised up in classic illegal coaster position ( please keep arms in at all times???) As far as earliest memories, that would have to be going through the barns and petting ” everything” with 4 legs and trying to convince my cousin to tell us the secret ingredient in the powder that used to make the Orange Julius so yummy!
My favorite memory of the PNE was the year that we stuffed ourselves with cotton candy, etc and went on the ride that spun around faster as you turned the wheel. We went on it over and over again. Then we lined up to view the Prize home and as we were about to go inside, my sister threw up right at the doorstep.
I love going into the marketplace looking at all of the knick nacks, eating mini donuts while watching the superdogs, and eating those wiggle chips and sprinking so much ketchup flavoring on them!!!
I’ve never been to the PNE, and wouldn’t mind checking it out…i hear the parking is pretty expensive though. The superdogs sounds good, and the monster trucks and food seem appealing.
I have never been to Playland, but when school starts everyone buzzes about how much fun they had on the rides, watching the shows, and eating unhealthy but delicious snacks!
I love rollercoasters, I hope it’s fun!
For years my younger son kept asking us if he could go in the Haunted House. He insisted (at three yrs old) that he “wasn’t scared.” I convinced him to wait until he was a little older. Finally, at the grand old age of 8 he took the leap with confidence (more than his mother ever had) through the black doors of horror only to run out the escape door screaming at the top of his lungs looking like a ghost himself!
I haven’t been for the past 4-5 years, but enjoyed it when we went. So much to do (and eat!). There’s definitely something there for everyone.
My favorite has always been the food. From the time I was little going with my parents and now taking my daughters. It was great when the PNE had the food building and we’d go in and check out the place and try to decide what we should eat. ALso being outside and smelling the hotdogs and onions and also the BBQ chicken. The smell of the place always brings back great memories.
Parking IS super expensive. I read on their website it’s $20! Considering you are going to buy a gate pass, pay for rides, games, food, drinks etc… shouldn’t parking be more affordable?
Rick Springfield, who will be performing at the fair, was once a good friend of mine. He became good friends with my girlfriend and then had the audacity to declare his love for her in a song. She initially was turned off by the public admission of love, but when the song went to the top of the charts she rode his 15 minutes of fame all the way to the altar.
That song kept me up many nights in the ’80s, but it’s now 2009 and I’ve been over it for a good decade now.
I want to go to the PNE to wish my ol’ buddy Rick well. Who knows, maybe I’ll see my former flame (better known as “Jessie’s Girl”) there too.
Oh yeah, I like roller coasters as well.
My favourite PNE memory? It’s a tradition for me to go with my parents every year — even though I’m 26, we never miss a chance to go as a family — mini doughnuts, PNE Prize Home, and the farm animals!
Never been to PNE before and will use this opportunity to have lots of fun!
The PNE has always been a family tradition.
Very fond memories of going when i was a child.
I would really like to take my nephew this year.
As a child, I went on the wooden roller coaster, the swings, tilt-a-whirl and the rainbow. Now, I enjoy more of the easier on the stomach rides! I am really looking forward to the upcoming concerts at the PNE 🙂
I would love to take my husband, son (10), his friend (10) and my daughter (4) to experience the PNE for the first time. We’ve just recently moved to Vancouver from Ontario and we are excited to experience everything BC. My son’s friend is coming to visit us from Ontario and it would be extra special to take them both to the PNE as they are both thrill seekers.
I would like to donate the tickets to a refugee family who cannot afford to go to the PNE. I am involved with http://www.journeyhomecommunity.ca. Journey Home serves refugee claimant families in Metro Vancouver. Most of these families don’t have any money or have a job.
My favorite memories are going with my Dad when I was a kid. We used to always get fudge from Maple Leaf Fudge. He passed away in May.
Memories of piling into the family car with my sisters,mom and dad…looking out the car windows and being excited to once again experience petting the animals,eating cotton candy,holding tightly onto my dads hand while I waited in anticipation for my turn on the bumper cars… Years later,my husband and I took our toddler daughter for the first time to the pne…not knowing yet that we were expecting our second baby…
I am on my own now with my girls..making new memories with my boyfriend..sharing my own,listening to his and laughing at our childhood experiences..To me that is what the pne is all about creating and sharing memories with the ones we love..
It is manditory that Vancouverites attend the PNE annually! It is traditional for us to go have a picture taken with the kids heads inside the Lion mouth by the food court at the top of the PNE, eat a multitude of whale’s tales, take in the horseshoe and impusively buy something at the show mart! Makes for excellent family memories!
2 favourite memories — 1st the year it rained and all the covered rides were really busy but the uncovered rides were almost empty and the operators would let us just stay on instead of getting the seats wet so we were wet but our bums weren’t — I know we did the swings for almost an hour and the pirate ship for another hour. My other favourite memory happens less and less as my cousins/nieces & nephews get older but happens during the few days after the pne… our who still has cotton candy left challenge, it’s a bittersweet victory not that I’d know because mine never lasts more than a day!
My favorite attraction as an adult is the mini donuts and the petting zoo but as i kid i loved the Swings and The Rainbow. I would love to win and take my kids now!
When i was a kid i loved the Wild Mouse. That sharp turn made it my favorite ride. We didn’t go as often as i would have wanted because it is so expensive. One summer though i managed to get a job there but didn’t have much time to ride the mouse. I am now a single mom of 2 and would love to win this for my family! Prices have gotten so high that it’s hard to take the kids every year.
My favorite memories of the fair are the food, the frozen dole yogurt, there was only one stand that had pineapple & strawberry, the donuts, cotton candy and all the other great food. I never thought i would like Whales Tails when i heard the name, but it’s nothing you would expect and so yummy. I also always get nostalgia when i hear the 80’s rock being pumped from that fast musical cars ride and the 90’s beats being rocked out from the swings.
I’ve gone to the PNE since I was a baby. My greatest memory was when I was touring around the Fair with my parents and little sister. The people, the environment, the whole ‘feel’ of the Fair really taught me the importance of family. For me, there are too many memories to write, but I will say, however, that the emotions that I felt during the Fair back then were Happy. Using ‘Happy’ is an understatement.
Mmmm mini donuts…need I say more. I have 2 little ones of my own now and I’ve been taking them to the PNE since they’ve been born. For me it’s all about fun and family!
For the longest time my favourite show was the Superdogs. I believe the original ring leader retired, but the show goes on and I know my 11 month old will love it because he points and exclaims “oooh” at every dog he sees. 🙂
[…] August 22nd is opening day of the PNE’s 99th season and tomorrow I’ll do my draw for the family pack of tickets. One special note is that the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society is going to be setting […]
Those photos are classic, Rebecca. I bet half the families in the Lower Mainland have similar ones. The PNE is always there.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Hunky Bill’s Perogies. Every year I eat too many… fortunately I can walk it off on the way to Playland.
love the PNE for big kids too – hope Nearly Neil is there again this year
Yeah!!!
It’s PNE time again.
I can taste those mini donuts and cotton candy that we referred to old lady’s hair when we were kids.
The thrills, the laughs, the fun,,,
the running to find shelter in the rain
the dicers, the slicers…the samples
The animals, horses and dogs.
Can’t wait to take the kids
Joy
As new comers to Vancouver we are looking forward having our first PNE memories 🙂 I know my two kids will like it a lot and so is my wife .
Getting to the top of the Hellivator at night just as the first fireworks
lit up downtown. That, and eating a bag of mini donuts last year.
One of the best rides has got to be the wooden roller coaster! My friends and I never get bored of it everytime.
I was 9 when I first went on the roller coaster. It was such a pivotal summer for me…leaving the little kid behind. I can still remember the terror while waiting in line and the absolute thrill at the ride’s end. Of course, I spent the rest of the afternoon going on ride after ride.
My best memory of the PNE was probably when I was about 11 or 12 and we were walking near/under the Skyride (which is no longer there but used to be an easy way to get from one end of the fair to the other), and I look up and I see money falling from the sky. When it landed in my hand it was a $20 bill. Yee haa!! My worst memory was going on the Zipper – the whole thing went around like a farris wheel, and each car spun around, head over heals. Again, I was about 12, maybe it was that same day?? I was scared out of my witts and was screaming so loud for them to stop the ride and let me off, which they did (pretty embarrassing thinking about it now). And once I got off I threw up. What a day!
I’ve just moved to Vancouver wit my family, and this will be our family’s first ever PNE, after reading your article I am even more excited about the Fair. I know my children are going to grow up somewhere so beautiful and I want them to build some great memories here in Vancouver and I think the PNE it definately a good diagnosis to aiding that.
Can’t wait
I am bringing my kids to vancouver to go to the PNE because every year when I was a kid, some of my friends would take a trip there from out small B.C. town, and I was never able to. My mom was a single mom, and it just wasn’t in the budget. It isn’t in mine now either, but I would love for my kids to experience it, since I never did until I was an adult.
I’m torn! Great memories include annual visits the PNE with my mom when I was little; how much fun it was to work in the Pure Foods Building when I was 15, selling “Hickory Smoked Beef – no spices, no fat – have a taste, folks”; and riding the wooden roller coaster for the 1st time when I turned 40 to see if I really was afraid of it. I was! Sheer terror. Never again.
Favourite memory: my 10-year-old brother throwing up in the garbage can right after we got off the roller coaster. To this day, he claims it was the cotton candy…
I worked on the PNE/playland websites for a couple of years back in the mid-90’s, and we used to get to go to Playland on media day, or family day – or something where it was more or less just us. And I think I rode the wooden coaster a dozen or so times until I got off, wobbled down the ramp and promptly threw up. Good times!
I used to spend my summers here and the best memories I have of the PNE was when my cousins and I were finally allowed to roam parent free! Spent most is the time on the rides that would scare us the most and then fill our faces with tons of goodies.
It always seemed to rain but when you are a teenager at a fair you just didn’t care. It was all real and most of all fun.
The coaster never disappoints! I think the scariest ride for me was the zipper. I screamed the whole ride. Hmmmm…wish I could try it again. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been!
Favorite memory has to be winning on of the ‘big’ stuffed toys popping balloons at one of those silly games. I think I was nine or ten, and I jumped up and down squealing for a couple of minutes before I could calm down enough to pick my prize.
I will NEVER forget the look of “What the fuzzz is happening to me” on my son’s face the first time we put him on the kid-rollercoaster. Now, he’s a thrill-ride junkie… even if the only ride available is a stroller. Faster mommy faster!!
My biggest memory (I’m 52) is going the fair every single year since I could walk with my family. We were quite poor and it was the absolute biggest deal of the summer – also a little sad, because it meant school and usually my birthday (making me yet another year older). As I grew up and married we (hubby & me) continued the tradition with my 2 boys & their friends. Its now the annual thing, pack lunches, convoy of cars, picnic treats – up at the break of dawn and we stay the ENTIRE day, all day, until it closes….and I always get my seated massage just before we leave — CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS YEAR….more memories!!!
My biggest memory is the year we couldn’t find the Fisher scones. My wife’s absolute must! We looked everywhere and we happened to ask an older (jewish lady I think) if she knew where the scones had gone. Apparently they were not there that year – my wife was disappointed but then the lady said, oh my dears, wait, it’s ok, I make. Her english wasn’t that great but she conveyed that everyone had been asking for scones and her and her daughter (?) had decided to make scones – and they were the absolute best scones, melt in your mouth type and reasonable, much more than the Fisher Scones. The next year we looked for that little jewish lady, couldn’t find her but the Fisher Scones were back …. I really do miss the lady’s scones….I’m going to be looking for her this year again, keeping my fingers crossed.
There are too many favorite memories of the PNE mostly revolving around food. Hunky bills. The greasy burgers and fries, huge cups of lemonade and root beer, whale tails, those little doughnuts, popcorn, cotton candy spun before your very eyes.
The music and shows too. Nearly Neil was always fun. Ai sure do miss the old superdogs host, but the new guy is good too. Dad liked Dal richards.
With four kids in tow now, I re-live my memories through them. Sure it’s expensive, but the smile on their faces is just priceless.
Thanks for the opportunity on winning the tickets and the stroll down memory lane.
[…] the smell of the PNE’s mini donuts wafting through the air and with kiddies scooping up all the latest Trapper […]
The PNE is a favorite to so many people in BC because of the fun we all had as children and the enjoyment we all have now seeing our own children’s faces light up when they see the wooden rollercoaster for the first time.
My favorite memory at the PNE is with my Dad. My Dad used to take my sister and I every year after my parents separated, but one year my sister was away and couldn’t make it. He took my anyways and said that he was meeting a friend so I didn’t have to go on the rides by myself. We got there and walked over to a women and her son standing by the gates waiting for us. Me and her son, being kids, ran off with our ride stamps and spent the day jumping from ride to ride, only finding our parents when we needed money for food, or to tell them about which ride we came from and which we were going to next.
The day was wonderfully tiring, as every trip to the PNE should be. Little did I know the day meant so much more than that. 6 months later my Dad and the women, Marian, were married in a beautiful church in Victoria, and my sister and I gained a sister and a brother.
It’s hard to believe that was more than 10 years ago!
Thanks for reading my memories about the PNE, and good luck choosing a winner!
See, good things to come from a day at the PNE!!
I have been in Canada for over 15 years and have never gone to the PNE 🙁
Yes, the memories! *smiles*
As a child, vendors selling crystal blown trinkets shining in the sunlight. For a $1, you’d get a surprise bag.
My sticky sugary chin from cotton candy and all the stuffed animals won that sit for years in my bdrm corner. I followed mom through each year’s lotto home crossing my fingers for her.
As a teen with girlfriends, chasing boys, giggling and wishing for true love. Then one of my gf’s sleepy lil kid brother kissed me on the skytrain home, lol. 80’s rock & fast rides went together like a dream come true. We all sang til we lost our voices.
As a grown woman, I am re-living the making of memories all over again in my own two children. Thank you Playland/PNE!