Flower Pot Characters at the PNE

The PNE Fair is one of the biggest summer events in Vancouver with concerts, rides and all sorts of entertainment options.

On August 29th and 30th of 2025, the PNE Fair hosted the Tatus Festival. It was an Indigenous celebration full of cultural performances, food and other activities. Skip to the Tatus Festival section of this article or visit the fair’s official website at pne.ca for more details about the special festivities.

This article includes the following information about the PNE Fair:

The PNE Fair in Vancouver

The PNE Fair is a big end-of-summer event each year. While there are PNE events during other seasons, the summer fair is by far the biggest. It runs for a couple of weeks from mid-August until the beginning of September.

In 2025 the fair ran from August 16th to September 1st. Check out our Pacific National Exhibition article or visit the official pne.ca website for full details on every part of the PNE. Or, continue reading below to learn more about this past year’s summer fair.

Location and Admission

The PNE takes place in Hastings Park at 2901 East Hastings Street. This past year the fair opened on Saturday, August 16th, and closed on the Labour Day Monday of September 1st.

Prices for admission to the venue at the gate in 2025 were $25 for adults (19+), $16 for seniors and teenagers, and $9 for children between the ages of 4 and 12. If you purchased your tickets in advance online, however, you could save between $2 and $10 depending on your age and the day of your visit. Children ages 3 and under are always free.

There were a variety of special offers this season too. For example, admission to the fair on the opening weekend of August 16th and 17th was just $7 per person. TransLink Fridays were on August 22nd and 29th, which was when you could get two-for-one admission if you showed your Compass Card at the gate.

If you used the promo code FAIRTW before August 19th, you could get four tickets for the price of two for Tuesdays and Wednesdays in 2025. If you only arrived at the fair between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm, you could get 50% off at the gate.

Of course, guests who wanted to also go on the Playland rides had to buy a ride pass which, cost around either $44 or $55 depending on which rides they wanted to go on. This was in addition to the above prices.

Live Entertainment Schedule

There’s a variety of live entertainment every day at the PNE Fair. Most of the performances during the day are free to attend with general admission. Some concerts at night, however, cost extra.

Summer Night Concerts

One of the fair’s highlights each year is the Summer Concert Series. Tickets for the special night concerts include general admission to the PNE. Below was the concert schedule for 2025.

Saturday, August 16th: Counting Crows: The Complete Sweets! Tour
Sunday, August 17th: LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Tuesday, August 19th: Bleachers
Wednesday, August 20th: Gipsy Kings ft. Nicolas Reyes
Thursday, August 21st: Mother Mother
Friday, August 22nd: Flo Rida
Saturday, August 23rd: Leon Bridges
Sunday, August 24th: Marianas Trench
Tuesday, August 26th: Sean Paul
Wednesday, August 27th: Wilco
Thursday, August 28th: Foreigner
Friday, August 29th: Tom Cochrane
Saturday, August 30th: Meghan Trainor
Sunday, August 31st: Atif Aslam
Monday, September 1st: Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Free Concerts and Entertainment

Admission to the PNE Fair includes access to lots of different shows and concerts. There’s live music on the Freedom Mobile Stage, along with dog shows at the Agrodome and performances by drag queens at Rollerland.

Music in the Park

Below were the artists who performed on the Freedom Mobile Stage in 2025. They played at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm each day.

Saturday, August 16th: Bobby Bruce’s Nearly Neil & The Solitary Band
Sunday, August 17th: Bobby Bruce’s Nearly Neil & The Solitary Band
Tuesday, August 19th: DREAMS: Canada’s Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Wednesday, August 20th: DREAMS: Canada’s Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Thursday, August 21st: Phonix Dance Band
Friday, August 22nd: Queer As Funk
Saturday, August 23rd: Julio Avila Cuban Band
Sunday, August 24th: Julio Avila Cuban Band
Tuesday, August 26th: Eagle Eyes: Tribute to Eagles and Joe Walsh
Wednesday, August 27th: TriloJay
Thursday, August 28th: The Motown Show
Friday, August 29th: Tatus Festival
Saturday, August 30th: Tatus Festival
Sunday, August 31st: Luisa Marshall as TINA TURNER
Monday, September 1st: Luisa Marshall as TINA TURNER

Tatus Festival

The Tatus Festival took place at the PNE Fair on August 29th and 30th in 2025. It was a celebration of Indigenous cultures with a variety of special activities. There were 127 Indigenous artists featured over the two days. The event included live music, Indigenous food trucks, and arts and craft vendors.

The entertainment schedule for both days of the Tatus Festival is below.

Friday, August 29th, 2025

12:30 pm – Welcome featuring Shayla Jacobs with Daughters Sariah and Stella, as well as Pavel Desjarlais, Eaglesong Dancers and Tsatsu Takaya
2:15 pm – V’Ni Dansi
4:00 pm – Sakanwee Baker
6:00 pm – JB the First Lady
8:00 pm – Crystal Shawanda

Saturday, August 30th, 2025

12:30 pm – Welcome featuring Chout Spirit and Nisga’a Ts’amiks Traditional Dance Group
2:15 pm – Patrick Calihou
4:00 pm – Hayley Wallis
6:00 pm – Bitterly Divine
8:00 pm – George Leach and Band

Remix Inferno

After the Music in the Park concerts finish each night, there are more performances to enjoy. Remix Inferno shows take place on the same Freedom Mobile Stage at 9:45 pm. It’s an energetic celebration with pyrotechnics and musical mashups.

SuperDogs

Fun dog shows are held at the Agrodome every day. The SuperDogs perform amazing and entertaining tricks for all to see. The daily shows typically run at 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm.

For the Love of Drag

The Roadhouse Patio & Bar is where you’ll find even more live entertainment. For the Love of Drag shows took place in 2025 at 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm each day. This year’s drag shows had a circus theme.

Other Fair Features and Events

The PNE has a lot to offer each year. There are daily exhibits and attractions throughout the park to enjoy. This year’s list included a public market with close to 100 vendors, canoe carving demonstrations from Indigenous artists, cooking demonstrations, a huge number of baby farm animals, and much more.

There are other special events during the fair as well. The schedule for some of these in 2025 was as follows:

4-H Festival – a chance to learn a lot about agriculture (August 16th to 17th).
KC Bear’s All-Canadian Street Party – sing and dance with KC Bear and friends on Miller Drive daily at 1:45 pm and 4:00 pm.
Safeway Cooking Stage – chefs led daily demonstrations at 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm in the market.
I-Flip Show – daily performances full of aerial stunts at 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 5:00 pm.
The Flying Fools High Drive Show – daily shows that featured amazing acrobatics at 2:00 pm, 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm.
Sands of Wonder – an international showcase of sand sculpting along Miller Drive that featured the work of 10 international artists.

PNE Prize Home Lottery

One of the biggest drawcards each year at the fair is the PNE Prize Home Lottery. Tickets for the lottery are purchased online and there are multiple draws with different prizes. Prizes up for grabs in 2025 included cars, cruise trips and thousands of dollars in cash. The grand prize was a $2.5 million home in Langley.

There are multiple draws for smaller prizes done in the build-up to the finale. There is also a 50/50 draw with tickets that are sold separately. The 50/50 draw winner in 2024 walked away with $825,115.

PNE Rides

There are nearly 30 rides available in the amusement park section of the PNE. They include old favourites like the Hellevator, Enterprise and Log Flume.

A new ride that debuted at Playland in 2024 is the ThunderVolt. This ride replaced the old corkscrew roller coaster from a few years ago. ThunderVolt seats 12 riders at a time and it’s the fastest fully electric roller coaster in the country. The track is 380 metres long and includes an 18-metre drop.

For guests who want to go on all the rides (including the ThunderVolt), the Thrill Pass is the must-purchase item. Those looking for the more kid-friendly rides can choose the Fun Pass which is around $10 cheaper.

Check out our Playland Rides article for more details about all the rides.