Comments on: The PNE in the ’70s: A photo essay by Bruce Stewart

By: The PNE Prize Home: Party Like it’s 1957! | Eve Lazarus

The PNE Prize Home: Party Like it’s 1957! | Eve Lazarus — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:54:58 +0000

[…] The PNE in the 1970s: Photos by Bruce Stewart […]

By: Johanna Star

Johanna Star — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 21:10:39 +0000

Thanks for the amazing photos!

By: Johanna Haveman

Johanna Haveman — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 21:07:25 +0000

In reply to Loretta Houben. 😊”now 95 years old” Jimmy or the hamburger business?

By: Loretta Houben

Loretta Houben — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 02:38:12 +0000

In reply to Eve Lazarus.

Our new Plasmabed arrived today; I think once I’m in it, I will never get up again…it is superb. It has massage for head and feet, and it elevates the mattress at the head and in the middle and at the feet; it is scrumptious! PS: I actually went on the wooden roller coaster way back in 1981 with my boyfriend (now my husband) and I survived. But I thought I was going to die….

By: Bob Cain

Bob Cain — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 19:55:58 +0000

Great photos!

By: Lori McGuinness

Lori McGuinness — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 18:04:25 +0000

As students living in Victoria in the 60’s, we would receive free tickets to the PNE along with our report cards. It was such a tease!

By: Leilani C

Leilani C — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 16:29:19 +0000

yeah i have many memories of the PNE my dad worked in the colosseum from 1982-2002 then he moved away… back then Canucks played there… but i worked there too 1999- till about 2009 in parking Gate 5 lol many great memories… it was great and as kid going there in the 1980s playland was the best! i haven’t been in years

By: Glennda Nuessler

Glennda Nuessler — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 22:29:37 +0000

‘Bingo’! I come from a bingo playing family. So interesting to sit around with a bunch of strangers.
Corn on the cob was a gooder along with the Candy Apple.
I always enjoyed riding the Caterpillar and the smell of the canvas roof that closed over us.
I miss the BC map! Love the photos & stories. TY

By: Loretta Houben

Loretta Houben — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 02:25:04 +0000

My husband and I went to the PNE yesterday (Aug 17) and enjoyed it all. It was a sunny hot day and only $7 each to get in; we had to purchase our online tickets the day before for that price. The Market Place is vastly improved! I was pleasantly surprised; wider aisles and very nice stuff for sale. We bought a Plasma bed! (made in Canada) We enjoyed the 4H club and the kids with their animals. A new thing for $2 each is a train ride through the Sanctuary. Very nice too. The food is expensive but delicious; Jimmy’s hamburgers (now 95 years old) for lunch, and Henry’s chicken plus ribs from the rib place for supper.

By: Bruce Stewart

Bruce Stewart — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 01:38:14 +0000

In reply to Lori.

To Lori – I am so sad to hear of your friend Cheryl’s tragic passing. Photographs do freeze an instant in time where life seems to stand still for the blink of an eye or the click of a shutter. I hope this was a happy memory ‘click’ for her. Often I wonder about the folks I photograph, now years ago. Be well.

By: Kris

Kris — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 21:17:45 +0000

In reply to Donna. Yes, we always stopped at "Hunky Bill's" for our fix of perogies while at the PNE! They were delicious! Sadly he passed away six years ago, but his business lives on.

By: Lori

Lori — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 20:38:10 +0000

Oh so many memories. The last picture of the gambling alley, the girl on the far right was my friend, Cheryl. Sadly she was killed in an accident at work at the long shoring terminals, approx. 20 tears ago. Still many good memories. Thanks.

By: Judith Stark

Judith Stark — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 01:31:25 +0000

As kids we would go with our Nana, a Brit, who forced us to spend a lot of time in the Food Pavilion. We’d have to line up for what seemed like hours which of course weren’t, but for our patience we’d receive teensy little cups of free food…soup and who knows what else….nothing memorable nor sufficient, as far as we were concerned. Hot dogs and cotton candy were what we wanted. Then we’d have to go to the ‘demo’ section of that building, where fast-talking hucksters would extoll the virtues of specialty veggie peelers or things that would grind food into bits….or so it seemed! Years later, as an adult, I liked to go to the building where the map of BC was, complete with molded mountains and depictions of rivers and lakes. It still exists….not sure if it’s still in a warehouse somewhere, or has been permanently resurrected.

By: Donna

Donna — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 22:52:16 +0000

Thought I’d see Honky Bill. This is where he got his start.
I used to visit his mother in Winnipeg & eat perogies there.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 16:32:48 +0000

I worked at Kiddie Land in 70. I had to load kids into the boat ride. By the end of the day I would be covered in cotton candy

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 15:24:11 +0000

My very first job was working during the PNE in the mid to late 1970’s! I did it for three consecutive years. I was at the entry gate just next to the Coliseum. I saw lots of very interesting people go through, looking forward to a fun filled time at the PNE!! I had a great time working there. The best year was 1977 when the RCMP Musical Ride was there for a number of shows. It was fantastic! Many years later both of my son’s first jobs was working at the PNE too! Both of them worked in the barns. Lots of hard work but they loved being around the animals. The PNE means lots of memories!!

By: Bill Engleson

Bill Engleson — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 15:20:53 +0000

I probably went a dozen times back in the late fifties into the sixties, ferrying over from Nanaimo with my folks, staying overnight with tolerant relatives…the PNE was always magical, in a sticky hands, tired feet sort of way…a couple of times in the seventies I went with nieces…and then…hmmm…great memories though. Much appreciated…

By: Kerrianne Ferrier

Kerrianne Ferrier — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 15:16:05 +0000

Great pictures from Bruce! I did a similar photo essay myself in the mid 70s from a single day of shooting at the fair in b&w. Mine aren’t quite at the technical level of Bruce’s but some similar subjects. Catching people with their prizes etc always created fascinating looks. This has made me want to go find my binder and look at my own photos from back then! 👍

By: Dee

Dee — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 14:30:39 +0000

Oh, the memories of the PNE. I remember those days especially the fun Summer Sunday concerts (so yes, I am aging myself here). Having a bit of a smile with many of the photos showing dark clouds. So typical to have rain during those two weeks but not any other time during Vancouver summers LOL.

By: Kelvin

Kelvin — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 13:44:34 +0000

Cool! Win a house, win a car!