"Local celebrity": "Price is Right" contestant visiting New Westminster next month
A Price Is Right contestant who overestimated the cost of a trip to New Westminster on the show will be able to visit the BC city after all.
Tourism New Westminster is hosting 64-year-old Phillip Fitzpatrick from December 5 to 9 to show him all the waterfront municipality has to offer.
“He’s like a local celebrity,” Tourism New Westminster executive director Gerardo Corro told Daily Hive. “Everyone wants to meet him.”
Fitzpatrick will meet the mayor, stay at the Inn at the Quay facing the Fraser River, eat at some of the city’s best restaurants, visit the local breweries, and take part in the Hidden Wonders Speakeasy Magic Experience. Corro also plans to take Fitzpatrick to Vancouver, only 25 minutes away from New Westminster by train.
“We just want to express and show everyone this Canadian hospitality,” Corro said.
Fitzpatrick is a self-proclaimed Price is Right junkie who was picked out of the audience to participate during a taping in August.
Show host Drew Carey billed the excursion as an “amazing trip to beautiful Canada,” where Fitzpatrick and a guest would be flown into Vancouver and driven to New Westminster for a six-day stay.
Fitzpatrick guessed the total cost of the trip would be $8,280 and was shocked by its actual value of just under $5,300.
He’d spent lots of time researching trips offered on the show and said this one was cheaper than anything he’d seen before — hence his over-bid.
Since Fitzpatrick thought so highly of the BC city, people began to suggest he should be invited anyway – and Tourism New Westminster got behind the idea. The agency began an online search for Fitzpatrick and revealed Monday they’d tracked him down.
In the spirit of fun, we invite everyone to join us in the #SearchForPhillip.
Let’s bring the contestant from the @PriceIsRight to New Westminster! The Tourism Board is excited to extend a special invitation for Phillip to experience New West. https://t.co/gHBp9M8zrw pic.twitter.com/nWt0Zs4Fbc
— Tourism New Westminster (@TourismNewWest) November 14, 2023
Fitzpatrick told Daily Hive he thought the offer might be a scam at first, but now that he’s verified it’s real, he’s looking forward to the trip. The flights on the show initially left from LA, but now they’re departing from Phoenix, where he lives.
“It’s surreal,” Fitzpatrick said of the experience. “I even emailed the Price Is Right people and they’ve never heard of anything like this before.”
The ordeal has generated a ton of buzz around New Westminster, and Corro said the tourism agency will be sharing photos and videos of Fitzpatrick’s visit.
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