Scones and mini pizzas were the highlight of our family’s culinary adventure at the Fair at the PNE when I was growing up. In my teenage years it was fried onions and burgers. The mini donuts have stood the test of time and in recent years it’s all been about the wackiest, most indulgent, state fair inspired eats you can find.
1976. Food concession at the PNE. Archives# CVA 180-7296.
Food at the PNE This Year
“We’re proud to present these new food and beverage offerings for the 2016 Fair at the PNE,” says Pete Male, Vice President of Sales at Pacific National Exhibition. “Our team has searched across the continent for the most insane and outrageous snacks we can find because food is an important part of the Fair experience. We think attendees are going to love what they see when they come to The Fair at the PNE.”
August 20th to September 5, 2016
There’s something for everyone this year. If you like mash-ups of popular snacks and flavours, if you’re looking to go big, or if you like twists on original fair foods.
Mac N Cheese Stuffed Burger, a hand-made beef burger patty that’s stuffed with creamy mac and cheese and topped with classic burger toppings. There’s also Gourmet Burger’s 10lb Burger, The Hercules Burger, for those looking for a challenge — and enough to feed you and your friends.
The Big Pickle Corn Dog is a deep fried pickle stuffed with a wiener, and again if you’re looking to level up, try the Biggest Baddest Brat, which is 12 inches of locally crafted Bratwurst.
Butter Chicken Fries, with golden, crispy French fries are topped with delicious Indian butter chicken sauce. Teriyaki Chicken Perogies will also be offered for fairgoers to enjoy this year. These bite size cheddar and potato perogies are lightly pan fried with butter and given a Teriyaki twist.
Mini Donut Ice Pops combine mini donuts with delicious frozen dulce caramel cream and cinnamon, creating the perfect frozen treat on a stick.
Try bacon candy floss, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup sandwiched between two Oreos, a Deep Fried Oreo Milkshake, Oreo Funnel Cake, Oreo Churros, and even Oreo Rice Pudding.
There will also be Deep Fried Tequila Shot Bites, with fried tequila flavoured cake bites topped off with icing sugar. Salted Caramel Deep Fried Coffee is fresh deep-fried coffee treats drizzled in caramel and Himalayan sea salt.
Check out the food lineup, including the lighter side of fair eating, and plan your trip to the PNE this summer. Sign up for the Donut Dash 5K on August 21st to burn off some calories while you also enjoy tasty treats throughout the course. Follow the Fair at the PNE on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Related: PNE Concert Series 2016.
The first public garden in Vancouver was once buried and forgotten, until the storm that decimated the park in 2006 unearthed its history. It’s the Stanley Park Rock Garden was laid out in 1911, the same year that the quarry that would become Queen Elizabeth Park was closed.
The First Public Garden in Vancouver
The Stanley Park Rock Garden
In 1911, three years after arriving in Vancouver, Scottish born John Montgomery began laying out the Stanley Park rock garden using boulders and rocks left over from the construction of the Stanley Park pavilion. Mr. Montgomery worked continuously on his creation until his death in 1920.
The rock garden would eventually span almost a mile in length as it wound its way from the Park’s entrance up to and beyond the Pavilion. With its rustic arbors, benches, rock lined pathways featuring “almost every kind of rock plant, flower, water lily and various flowering shrubs” the garden was one of the prime attractions in the park. Tourist publications heralded the garden for its beauty and it was a popular postcard subject.
1922. Stanley Park Pavilion & Rock Garden. Archives# St Pk N60.
The garden surrounds the rustic chateau-stye Stanley Park Pavilion, designed by Otto Moberg and completed in 1912. The landscape plan included an expanse of lawn, ornamental plantings, lily pond, pathways and a substantial bandstand – now demolished.
1936. Stanley Park Pavilion & Rock Garden. Archives# St Pk N55.
From the Sunday Province, 1927: So cleverly, so carefully, has the rock garden been built, grounded with greenery of tender plants and fern-like wild ones. There, one will notice, things are planted in longish drifts, and not in clumps or patches, the length of the drift going with the natural stratification. Again, as the season advances, one will notice the further care in selecting the plants whose colours will harmonize with the corner of the rockery to which they have been assigned.
The garden was all but forgotten by the 1950s and only recently rediscovered, 50 years later.
“It took him nine years to build it, and it took me nine years to bring it back,” Montgomery’s descendant, Chris Hay, told Global BC in 2013. the Stanley Park Rock Garden was designated one of Vancouver’s “Places That Matter” during the city’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
The plaque, tucked just around the east side of the pavilion reads: “The first public garden of the city was created from 1911 to 1920 by master gardener John Montgomery from unwanted boulders excavated for the adjacent park pavilion. Stretching from Pipeline Road to Coal Harbour this early park attraction had by the early 1950’s become partially abandoned, its story forgotten until revealed by the devastating windstorm of December 15, 2006.”
Thanks to the efforts of Chris Hay, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, the Vancouver Park Board and various levels of government, it is unlikely that the Stanley Park Rock Garden will be lost again.
UPDATE: May, 2020
The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) is pleased to announce Chris Hay is the recipient of a 2019 Certificate of Recognition for his invaluable efforts to have the Stanley Park Rock Garden recognized as a historic site in Vancouver and nationally.
The first public garden in Vancouver, the Stanley Park Rock Garden was laid out in 1911 by master gardener John Montgomery, and was one of Stanley Park’s top attractions, but the park became neglected and gradually disappeared into the adjacent forest after the Second World War.
Chris Hay, great grandson of John Montgomery, rediscovered the rock garden when he began researching his family history. A devastating windstorm in 2006 revealed lost portions of the rock garden landscape. After years of research and lobbying by Hay, the Stanley Park Rock Garden was recognized as one of Vancouver “Places that Matter,” added to the Vancouver City Heritage Register, and listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.”
The Honda Celebration of Light kicked off its 26th year in Vancouver on Saturday, July 23rd as Royal Fireworks, representing Netherlands, dazzled almost half a million spectators on the shores and waters of English Bay.
Vancouver Fireworks Photos
Netherlands Night 1
Thanks to those who shared their photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool, #Photos604 on Instagram, and Twitter, here’s a sample of what it was like last night:
https://twitter.com/hshsuhshsu/status/757114674483634176
Up next is Howard’s Fireworks, representing Australia (July 27, 2016) and Walt Disney Entertainment, representing United States (July 30, 2016). Follow the Honda Celebration of Light on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.
There are so many beautiful beaches around Vancouver, each with its own features, amenities, and scenery. Iona Beach Regional Park is unique in that the park, with beach, includes 13km of hiking trails, 3km of horseback riding trails, and 4km of cycling trails. Pinched between the Fraser River outlets to the Salish Sea, between Richmond and Vancouver, it offers riverfront and seaside views like nowhere else in the region.
Watch planes land at YVR airport next door, walk out along one of the jetties, watch sunsets from the sand dunes, sit around a firepit, take some Instagram-worthy photos of wildlife at the wetlands. More than 300 species of birds feed and rest at Iona Beach Regional Park so while dogs are welcome, they need to remain on leash.
Metro Vancouver Regional Parks are hosting a photo contest this summer and there’s still time to enter to win. Follow along on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
“I… I just need a minute,” I told the guide who was leading me around the corner of a rock face. I was 8,000ft up as I held onto my support harness with every ounce of energy I could muster. My foot kicked a rock loose and it tumbled. I counted the seconds until I heard it hit something below, as you would between bolts of lightning and claps of thunder, and the stone’s landing was almost inaudible.
Terrified selfie, mid-tour.
Deep breaths. Wipe tears. I can do this. I found my footing and glided my lifeline across to the next set of iron bars that were anchored into the mountainside. I clipped in, paused, and started climbing again.
Via Ferrata at Kicking Horse Mountain
After my Via Ferrata experience at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort last summer I was shaken. I told myself I didn’t have fun. But for the last 10 months, I’ve been telling everyone the story. The story of how I slinked, climbed, and navigated a mountainside with nothing but rebar handholds and a cable to keep my heart beating (a million miles a minute).
Our fearless guide.
I traversed the ridge-line dividing the Rocky Mountain trench from the Purcell range for over 460 meters, using steel steps, handles, ladder rungs, and a steel cable. I know, it sounds pretty bad-ass now, especially given that the entire tour starts out by crossing the third longest suspension bridge in Canada — and that the Via Ferrata setup was only about a month old when I had my adventure.
During the tour, I was terrified. I hoped that my legs or arms wouldn’t give out, and it took me a while to fully trust my support line, on which I could rest my entire weight at designated areas. I did manage, somehow, to get my phone out to take some photos at those stopping points. I had to take petrified selfies with a smile plastered on my face, and text my husband: “You know I love you. I just want you to know that.”
I pushed on, and then feelings of fear and desperation were traded up for accomplishment and triumph. Having conquered such an activity over the course of two hours, I felt exhilarated when we reached the summit. Our group sat on boulders at the peak, and looked out over the town of Golden and the Columbia River.
I always tell myself I should do the things that scare me, and boy I had no idea how much Via Ferrata would scare me. However, I have these stories, and I have these pictures, and I’m so glad I did this.
If you would like to challenge yourself to Via Ferrata while you’re in the Kootenay Rockies region, head up to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. No rock climbing experience is required, I didn’t have any, but I think it might help. Either that, or just be completely open to the new adventure. I was, but I didn’t know what to expect so I think the unknown is what also leapt me out of my comfort zone.
Composed selfie at the top!
Bring some water, sunscreen, gloves for gripping, and dress for the elements. I wore a backpack and was able to reach it during breaks when I was clipped into the iron rungs. Family rates are available, for kids 12 and up, and you’ll be given all the safety gear you need.
There are two guided routes to choose from. The Discovery Route is for first-timers and the Ascension Route is “one of the most technical & scenic in North America”. At the end of it all, you’ll stand on top of the world, and it will feel amazing. You’ll definitely earn that burger & beer back at Eagles Eye Restaurant.
Difficulty ratings for the Via Ferrata are internationally ranked: French F-PD German K1-K2 UIAA II-III. For more information, follow Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and plan your trip with Kootenay Rockies Tourism.
