Hot weather a mixed blessing for PNE
Every year, PNE president Mike McDaniel prays to the weather gods for blue skies and sunshine during the PNE.
This year, he got his wish — perhaps too much of it.
“I’m not sure if it’s the hottest fair on record, but anecdotally it’s been quite a warm fair,” McDaniel said on Monday, the 15-day fair’s last day.
“Half the fair days we have here were unseasonably hot.
“It’s not something we’re used to.”
Usually, the fair is visited by rain and cooler temperatures at night. This summer, the PNE management team had commented several times that they haven’t had to put on a jacket once the sun sets, noted McDaniel, adding the blistering weather may have spooked off some people.
“For a family demographic, which the fair is, it really does keep people away because it’s just too hot.” But, he added, “it’s better than rain.”
While it’s still too early for final attendance figures, McDaniel has a sunny outlook. “We’re tracking a little bit better than last year.”
In 2016, with mostly good weather and rain on the Labour Day weekend, the PNE saw 712,367 people stream through its gates. In 2015, rain and storm winds pummelled the fair’s attendance to a dismal 670,000.
This year, the PNE’s free summer night concert series — a lineup that included Chicago, Huey Lewis and The News and The Gipsy Kings — was among the fair’s strongest draws, while a new drone show involving 35 drones that put on a light-and-sound show against the night sky was a sleeper hit, said McDaniel. Another new thing at the fair this year: Looser liquor laws.
After many discussions with the province and police, the PNE had obtained an open liquor licence, meaning adults can enjoy a glass of wine or a pint of beer throughout the fairgrounds (excluding Playland).
The idea, said McDaniel, was to grant parents with children who can’t go into the beer gardens the opportunity to have a drink: “It gave more freedom for people to experience the fair the way they wanted to do it.”
The experiment has been a success. Booze-related issues have gone down because people don’t have to chug their drinks before they leave the licensed area. Fairgoers also gave the new policy a thumbs up.
“We’ve had a lot of people literally thank us for finally doing this at a major event,” said McDaniel. “The big comment is that Vancouver’s been ready for this for a long time.”
It’s something the PNE would like to bring back next year pending its licence application, he said.
The draw for the PNE Prize Home — a 3,100-square-foot modular home worth about $1.6 million — will be Monday at 6:30 p.m.