My dad talking to Miss PNE 1958.
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For you non-Vancouverites, PNE stands for "Pacific National Exhibition" which began as the Vancouver area's fall harvest fair and evolved into a major agricultural and industrial trade show, and the typical fall-fair carnival rides and sideshow developed into a permanent amusement park called "Playland" that opens in the spring, months before the actual PNE. The PNE grounds were the home of Vancouver's first stadium, Empire Stadium, where Roger Bannister ran the "
Miracle Mile" in the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Empire Stadium fell into disuse after BC Place was opened in 1983, and was demolished not much later. The statue of Roger Bannister and John Landy that used to be at the entrance of the stadium has been moved to the main entrance to the PNE grounds.
We used to get free tickets to the PNE at the end of the school year. It's funny, I used to go the PNE and Playland more when I lived on Vancouver Island than since I've actually lived in Vancouver. In the 16 years I've lived here, I've been once.
