1  Crowds. We Vancouverites love our PNE, and almost a million of us show up every year to prove it.
2 Superdogs. The talented pooches perform three times a day.
3 The PNE Prize Home. For just $25 (for five tickets), you could live in Kelowna in style. Heck, we’d even accept one of the secondary prizes of a car or scooter.

Oh, the smell of Those Little Donuts!

4 Those Little Donuts. Bet you can’t eat just one.
5 The fact that the PNE is so easy to get to. It’s just a short bus ride from downtown.
6 Dal Richards. The big-band leader may be 91, but he still performs twice a day.
7 Cotton candy, corn dogs—food always tastes best when served on a stick.
8 Free samples of iced tea, gum or whatever the latest product is.
9 The view from the Ferris wheel.
10 Prizes prizes prizes. If you’ve ever yearned to own a stuffed Scooby-Doo taller than most adults, visit the midway.

11 The Marketplace. You’ll find all those “As Seen On TV” products advertised on late-night television—and more. Shammy, anyone?
12 The West Coast Logger Show, complete with log-rolling and axe-throwing.
13 Seeing chickens, cows, pigs, llamas and other farm animals.
14 Petting baby goats and sheep.
15 Bottle-feeding baby calves. Time it right, and you might even see a calf being born.
16 Cheering on Richard’s Racers, those squealing little piggies.
17 Admiring aptly named Peter the Great, a 1,350-kg (3,000-lb) steer.
18 The bee-beard demonstrations in the honey bee exhibit.
19 Horse shows.
20 The sandcastle competition.
21 Temporary tattoos.
22 Mike Battie, juggler extraordinaire.
23 White Spot burgers. Grab an extra napkin or two, or risk dripping Triple O sauce all over your shirt.

A visit to the PNE is filled with mesmerizing colours.

Screaming our head soff on Playland rides:
24 Breakdance!
25 Corkscrew.
26 Crazy Beach Party.
27 Drop Zone.
28 Enterprise.
29 Flume. You’ll get soaked on this log ride.
30 Gladiator.
31 Hellevator. Get ready to scream.
32 Hell’s Gate.
33 Music Express.
34 Pirate. For the most thrills, head for a seat at either end.
35 Revelation.
36 Scooters.
37 Scrambler.
38 Wave Swinger.
39 Westcoast Wheel.

No visit to the PNE is complete without a ride on the wooden roller coaster.

40 Wooden Roller Coaster. It celebrated its 50th birthday last year.
41 Red Robinson’s Talent Showdown (Aug. 22 to 25). Local crooner Michael Bublé was discovered at one such PNE talent competition, way back in 1995.
42 Psychics.
43 Caricature artists.
44 Art cars. Let out your inner Jackson Pollock, using a car or truck as your canvas.
45 Balloons.
46 The Neighbourhood Showcase, featuring more than 100 community groups singing and dancing.
47 Face-painting.
48 K.C. the Kettle Creek bear, the PNE’s roly-poly mascot.
49 The climbing wall.
50 Motocross races.
51 Sipping a cold one in the beer garden.
52 Becky Hoops and her many hula-hoops.
53 The unique smell that just screams “summertime”: a combination of donuts, sunscreen lotion, fried onions and hay.
54 Oversized novelty hats.
55 People-watching.
56 The Toon Rock Parade, featuring Garfield, Snoopy and the Tasmanian Devil.
57 The basketball court.
58 Deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried Jelly Belly beans, deep-fried mushrooms, deep-fried prawns and chips—pretty much anything deep-fried.
59 The shooting gallery.
60 The Celtic Legends dance show, which gets toes tapping, even if you’re not Irish.
61 Baskin-Robbins ice cream cones.

Rides just for the tiniest tykes, including:
62 Dune Buggies.
63 Flying Elephants.
64 Helicopters.
65 Honeybee Express.
66 KC’s Raceway.
67 Kettle Creek Mine Coaster.
68 Merry-Go-Round.
69 Paddle Wheeler.
70 Raiders.
71 Stunt Cycles.
72 Super Slide.

Free nightly concerts by amazing acts:
73 Beatles tribute bands (Aug. 22), in honour of the 45th anniversary of The Beatles’ performance at the PNE.
74 Mitchel Musso (Aug. 23).
75 Doc Walker (Aug. 24).
76 En Vogue (Aug. 25).
77 Al Jarreau (Aug. 26).
78 Rick Springfield (Aug. 27).
79 The Headpins (Aug. 28).
80 Jaydee Bixby (Aug. 29).
81 Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts (Aug. 30).
82 Elvis tribute acts (Aug. 31).
83 Tom Cochrane with Red Rider (Sep. 1).
84 Johnny Reid (Sep. 2).
85 ABBAmania (Sep. 3).
86 April Wine (Sep. 4).
87 Chilliwack (Sep. 5).
88 The Higgins (Sep. 6).
89 Bobby Bruce’s Nearly Neil and the Solitary Band (Sep. 7).

Games of skill with giant stuffed animals as the much-coveted prizes.

90 Glowsticks, light sabres and other plastic weapons for sale that kids use to hit each other—and unlucky adults nearby.
91 The arcade.
92 Finding a cool spot in the shade to rest and relax before hitting the next ride.
93 Pizza, fudge-dipped apples, foot-long hot dogs, candy-coated peanuts, French fries, funnel cakes and other tasty (but not particularly healthy) treats.
94 The haunted mansion. Scaredy-cats, this is not for you.
95 The glass-house maze. Good luck finding your way out.
96 Ice-cold lemonade. There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot day.
97 Kaboom! A Pyro Musical Spectacular. Music and pyrotechnics—what more could you want from nightly show?
98 After Dark in Spirit Plaza. Bring a glowstick and get ready to dance the night away.
99 Line-ups. You can’t avoid ’em, so you might as well accept ’em. And never, ever wait until the last minute before seeking a bathroom.

– Text & photos by Sheri Radford