'We wanted to get the Fair kick-started again': PNE offers 2-for-1 tickets ahead of final weekend

Attendees of the PNE enjoy one of the fair's various rides. (Source: PNE)

Going to the 2024 PNE Fair will be more affordable this week, as organizers look to wrap up the annual event on a more positive note, following an exceptionally wet first week.

Fairgoers can get two admission tickets for the price of one for visits between Aug. 27-29, the PNE announced Sunday, bringing the total cost down to $20.

The 2024 fair kicked off on Aug. 17, and organizers say that while the response has been positive, significant rain last week has put a damper on the event.

Saturday alone was the wettest Aug. 24 in Vancouver’s history, with a total of 26.7 millimetres of rain falling in the city, according to data by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“We wanted to get the Fair kick-started again going into our final weekend,” PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance said in a statement.

Pitched as “your End-of-Summer party,” the annual event runs for 15 days and offers rides, fair food and entertainment – including the beloved SuperDogs and Summer Night Concerts.

Organizers are still working to recover attendance levels, after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Fair, and limitations on capacity for the following two years.

The 2023 Fair — the first without capacity restrictions — was attended by 626,531 people, which is still 100,000 short of pre-pandemic levels.

As organizers hope to attract more fairgoers with a limited time discount offer, certain conditions are in place.

“Tickets must be bought in multiples of two and of the same type. Maximum of six tickets per ticket type,” the statement explains.