PNE adapts to the pandemic by becoming a drive-thru fair
Against all odds, the 110th Pacific National Exhibition is opening on Saturday.
While some of the familiar features will be in place, it is going to be a much different PNE than what people have come to expect from previous fairs.
The 2020 instalment will be a “Drive-Thru Fair” where each vehicle costs $25, regardless of the number of passengers.
It will also be a PNE that for the first time will be asking both the public and politicians for help.
Because of an income tax ruling by Canada Revenue Agency classifying the PNE as part of the City of Vancouver, the fair has been deemed ineligible to receive any COVID-19 federal or provincial government funding, said Laura Ballance, head of media relations for the PNE.
“We’re the only fair that has not been able to access a single government program,” she said. “It is life and death for us.”
As of 2019, the PNE was the largest employer of youth in B.C. and provided 9,500 direct and indirect jobs a year.
Ballance said the fair generates $200 million annually in economic spinoffs for the city and region.
The PNE has always taken the position that it is a “first job” employer, which has allowed numerous new Canadians and youths the opportunity to work without having any previous job experience.
“We have a policy that we don’t require experience to get experience,” Ballance said.
But the dire straits the PNE finds itself in means all those benefits, as well as $1.5 million it spends annually on community programs, are in jeopardy.
“We’re fighting hard,” she said. “The people here are passionate. I believe the PNE represents the collective fabric of this province. The memories here are important.”
The $25 entry fee per carload includes two tickets to the opening day of next year’s fair, and a souvenir PNE face mask. Tickets have to be purchased online at ticketleader.ca
The nine-day Drive-Thru Fair runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Sunday, Aug. 30 (it will be closed on Monday, Aug. 24).
At this year’s PNE, people will be able to park their vehicles to watch a SuperDog Show called a TailGate Party, drive through agricultural displays including barnyard animals, and see a reverse parade — where the audience moves and parade participants stay stationary.
There will also be vendors selling fair food such as perogies, mini-doughnuts, corn dogs, and poutine.
Tickets for the PNE Prize Home are two for $25, six for $50, or 15 for $100. They are available at PNEPrizeHome.ca. Playland is open Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays until Monday, Sept. 7.
“We’re the place where Elvis played and the Beatles played. We are the place where Michael Bublé was discovered,” Ballance said.
“We might not be the flashiest or the newest, but we’re the place where people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and economic circumstances come together.”