The Fair at the Pacific National Exhibition

I remember when I arrived to Vancouver for the very first time at the middle of August. The first Canadian person I talked to asked me “did you go to the PNE?”. I was totally out of it. I had just moved to an English speaking country and had no interest whatsoever in knowing the local customs, all I wanted was to adapt quickly to my new environment. So I forgot about the PNE. For about a decade.

Each year, as the school year begins, I am always reminded about the Pacific National Exhibition and the Fair. And for the most part, I ignore it, not because I am not interested, but because I seem to have this ancient self-defense mechanism about the first thing I learned about Vancouver – that there was a fair in August hosted at the PNE.

And for the first time this summer, thanks in part to my good friend Gus Fosarolli, and thanks to the Raise Your Hand Movement closing party for Josh Dueck breaking the record for most high-fives within a 24 hours period, I ended up visiting and actually hanging out at the fair at the PNE. It’s not that much different from other famous fairs in Mexico (and in some ways, the fairs in Mexico are MUCH better), but more importantly, they keep some of the attractions open all year long, and that’s awesome.

The PNE celebrated it’s first 100 years and that’s super awesome. I’m glad I finally had a chance to enjoy it!