The Fair at the PNE has closed for its 104th year and there was an 8 per cent increase over last year’s attendance.
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According to PNE staff, 769,242 people passed through the gates of this year’s fair, up from 712,049 in 2013.
Attendance for the 2013 fair fell short of the projected 800,000 while this year’s attendance marks a two year high, exceeding the attendance of 763,000 in 2012.
There were 803,598 guests recorded in 2011 and 937,485 for the centennial celebration in 2010, which included major concerts held in the temporary 27,528 seat stadium at Empire Fields and a parade celebration on Beach Avenue in downtown Vancouver.
Each year, the Fair is typically responsible for between $22 million to $25 million of the PNE’s revenues.
Fair at the PNE attendance over 10 years
- 2014 – 769,242
- 2013 – 712,049
- 2012 – 763,000
- 2011 – 803,598
- 2010 – 937,485
- 2009 – 855,137
- 2008 – 753,298
- 2007 – 906,808
- 2006 – 958,781
- 2005 – 903,467
“We are thrilled with the success of The Fair at the PNE this year,” says PNE President and CEO Mike McDaniel. “By offering traditional favourites that our guests have come to love, and featuring new programming that was available exclusively at the Fair for this year only, we really made sure the 104th Fair lived up to its iconic legacy.”
He also added that this was the second year of a five-year plan to “re-energize” the Fair.
Up until 2012, the annual fair at Hastings Park was a 17-day long event. In 2013, organizers reduced two days from the fair by cancelling the first two Mondays, which are traditionally the slowest days for attendance, in an effort to prioritize resources and reduce costs.
The 2014 attendance increase is attributed to some improvements in fair programming, such as the highly popular Game of Thrones exhibition and a higher calibre talent line-up for the daily concerts.
There were also three days of 2 hour long free gate admission periods, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Following tradition, organizers implemented free admission on the first Tuesday, but two additional free admission days were later added on the final Saturday and Sunday during the Labour Day long weekend due to rain forecasts.
Beginning on opening day, the Fair at the PNE experienced 12 consecutive days of sunny, warm weather.
2014 Fair at the PNE by the numbers
General
769,242 – number of visitors to the 2014 Fair
17,000 – average number of steps taken per day by a PNE employee
5,030 – approximate number of items returned to the Lost and Found
104 – age of this year’s Fair
8 – number of hours spent by the average family at The Fair
1 – number of Emmy Awards brought to The Fair at the PNE
Agriculture
324,891 – total sales for the 4-H auction
400 – total participants in the 4-H auction
250 – number of chicks born at The Fair
22 – dumpster loads of dung taken away from the livestock barns
9 – number of calves born at The Fair
Entertainment
48,000 – number of people that went through Game of Thrones®: The Exhibition
200,000 – number of people who watched the Superdogs show
144,800 – number of people that watched Timber! – A Stompin’ Lumberjack Shindig
1,000 – number of seats in the Beer Garden (Vancouver’s largest outdoor patio)
860 – pounds of food consumed by the Superdogs
100 – number of original artifacts in Game of Thrones®: The Exhibition
75 – number of years Dal Richards has performed at The Fair
50 – years since The Beatles played at the PNE’s Empire Stadium
45 – number of pooches in the Superdogs show
18 – number of Superdogs trainers
16 – age of 2014 PNE Star Showdown winner, Alyssa Gutierrez
Food
4,500,000 – number of Kernels popped at Canadian Kettle Corn
2,000,000 – number of mini donuts sold at Those Little Donuts stand
210,000 – ounces of Root Beer consumed at Buckeyes Root Beer
90,000 – number of corn dogs sold
69,000 – number of shrimp sold at Shrimp Boat
33,500 – number of cotton candies sold
30,500 – number of 16 oz. soft drinks sold
25,000 – pounds of dough used to produce mini donuts at Those Little Donuts stand
21,000 – racks of ribs sold
13,890 – number of lemons used at the lemonade stand
12,240 – number of cobs of corn sold at the Chilliwack Corn stand
7,550 – number of samosas sold at Curry-In-A-Hurry
7,500 – number of Crazy Dogs sold
5,000 – number of food-related jobs created for the Fair
4,800 – number of turkey legs sold
3,765 – number of sliders sold at Gourmet Burgers
3,750 – number of deep fried Mars bars sold
3,000 – number of root beer floats sold at Ernie’s Ice Cream
2,100 – gallons of BBQ sauce used at the 4th Annual Vancouver Rib Festival Competition
2,000 – number of calories in the Vortex Burger from Gourmet Burgers
775 – pounds of potatoes used to make Wiggle Chips
125 – kilograms of fudge sold
90 – age of Ernie from Ernie’s Ice Cream
76 – number of years Ernie’s Ice Cream has been at The Fair
72 – number of years Jack Hunter has worked at the PNE
71 – number of food vendors at the 2014 Fair
4 – number of competitors in the 4th Annual Vancouver Rib Festival Competition
2 – number of tablespoons of sugar in a large cotton candy
Games
250,200 – number of stuffed animal prizes won at games annually during The Fair
19,000 – number of annual plays on the Playland Midway Dart Game
3,270 – number of bottles broken at the Bottle Break Game on the Payland Midway annually
PNE Prize Home
1,300,000 – dollar value of the PNE Prize Home
121,000 – number of people that went through the PNE Prize Home
2,000 – number of times per day a PNE Prize Home ticket seller says “Win a house, win a car”
80 – number of years the PNE has been giving away a PNE Prize Home
3 – years in a row Jillian Harris has designed the PNE Prize Home
Rides
8,160 – number of times the Wooden Roller Coaster went around the track during the Fair
218 – height in feet of AtmosFEAR, the tallest ride at the Fair
90 – number of seconds per ride on the Wooden Roller Coaster
90 – age of oldest person to ride the Drop Zone
54 – number of rides at The Fair
1 – new ride added to Playland in 2014 (Rock N’ Cars)
Vancity Member Day & Zero Waste Event
18,000 – number of visiting guests to the annual Fair at the PNE on Vancity Member Day
2,070 – number of kilograms of organic matter diverted from the landfill
165 – number of kilograms of mixed containers diverted from the landfill
120 – number of kilograms of solid waste diverted from the landfill
94.9 – percent of the day’s waste diverted from the landfill
Feature Image: Gerry Sung via Flickr
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