Home Holiday Activities Vancouver’s PNE at Halloween

Vancouver’s PNE at Halloween

September 22, 2021

The PNE hosts some of Vancouver’s most popular events. The haunted house-filled Fright Nights is one of its most popular attractions.

Frights Nights is back once again in 2024 with its usual haunted houses and rides. To learn all of what’s on offer at this year’s Halloween-themed event, see our article about Fright Nights or click frightnights.ca.

Keep reading below for details about both Fright Nights this year as well as what’s happened at the PNE in recent years.

Halloween Events at the PNE

Below is information about what’s happened at the Pacific National Exhibition since 2020. The pandemic really changed how the PNE operated at Halloween and there’s been a few different events at the venue since then.

In 2020 instead of Fright Nights there was Slayland. In 2021 the PNE held a new Halloween-themed event called Playland Hallowed Eves. Fright Nights returned in 2022 but also that year was an event called Tricks & Treats where younger children and their families could play on the amusement rides and do a candy scavenger hunt on the weekend before Halloween.

In 2023 and 2024 the PNE has been more similar to what it was before the pandemic, with the haunted houses and rides and none of the special events from the previous few years. The haunted house lineup has changed a bit a couple of times, though.

For tickets and more information about the event in 2024 see the Fright Nights website.

Halloween Before COVID and since 2023

Most years the PNE hosts Fright Nights which is a world-famous attraction featuring amusement rides and haunted houses. It’s an amazing event!

Fright Nights has been happening since 2003. It has taken place every year since then, except for in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Fright Nights returned in 2022, it did so without the Carn-Evil haunted house. It came back with a new version the next year, however. Also making its debut in 2023 was the latest addition to the haunted house lineup: The Void. That means there are now eight scary attractions at Fright Nights.

In addition to its first-rate haunted houses, the event also has live entertainment and lots of amusement rides. In 2024 Fright Nights happens on October 4-6, 10-13, 17-20, and 24-31.

Tickets for Fright Nights at the gate in 2024 range between about $35 and $60 for general admission depending on the date. Admission includes access to about twenty amusement rides, the haunted houses and live entertainment.

To learn more see our articles about Fright Nights, PNE Halloween Tips & History, and Fright Nights Haunted Houses Reviews.

Fright Nights and Tricks & Treats in 2022

When Fright Nights returned in 2022, it was mostly the same as it was before the pandemic. There was one major addition, however, and it was the new Tricks & Treats event.

Tricks & Treats was an event that took place on October 29th and 30th in 2022. From noon to 4:00 pm on both of those days, families could show up to the PNE for a special Halloween event geared towards younger children.

Only three of the haunted houses were open during Tricks & Treats, and none of them had live actors inside which made them more suitable for some younger folk (or more timid adults) to enjoy, although they were still a bit too scary for the truly little ones!

Children who came to Tricks & Treats enjoyed a candy scavenger hunt, some other fun games and all of the Playland rides that were open during Fright Nights. Admission cost $31.50 for everyone.

Unfortunately, this event hasn’t returned since its first year.

Playland Hallowed Eves in 2021

With Fright Nights unable to return in 2021, that year’s Halloween event at the PNE was Playland Hallowed Eves. It featured circus-like entertainment like fire breathers, sideshow stunts and contortionists. There were also spooky characters and monsters walking around, and lots of rides to enjoy.

The event ran on select dates between October 8th and the 31st. It was open on the weekends of October 8th to 10th, 15th to 17th, 22nd to 24th and 29th to 31st. It was also open on the Thursdays of October 21st and 28th and the Wednesday of October 27th.

Tickets cost $39.50 on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of October 8th, 9th and 10th. For every day after the first weekend tickets cost $44.50. Tickets cost the same regardless of your age.

What Rides Were Operating?

Close to twenty rides were operating at the PNE in October of 2021. Unfortunately, the Wooden Roller Coaster was closed for the season. Other rides may not have been running all the time every single day. Rides that you could enjoy most of the time, however, included extreme rides like AtmosFear, The Beast and Hellevator.

Other rides that thrill seekers enjoyed included Breakdance, Enterprise, Sea-to-Sky Swinger and Gladiator. Revelation was also operating, although for that one there was an additional charge.

Less extreme rides included the Kettle Creek Mine Coaster and Pirate Ship. There was also the Music Express and Rock’n’Cars. Little kids and more timid folk enjoyed things like the Balloon Explorers, Bug Whirled, Dizzy Drop, Flutterbye, the Merry-Go-Round, Tea Cups and West Coast Wheel.

Free Entertainment

In addition to the spooky decorations and characters walking around the event, Playland’s Hallowed Eves also featured free performances by the following entertainers:

Burns the Dragon & The Caravan of Curiosities – Sideshow stunts with a fire-themed finale that included fire breathing, swords, juggling and more.
Kasha Konaka – a circus artist from Vancouver who specializes in contortion put her skills on display.
Dr. Yukalator – the talented juggler showed off with a variety of different props.
Neil E. Dee – an extreme stunt performer who pushed the limits of the human body with sword swallowing and other dangerous acts on select nights.
Bella Bizarre – a performance artist who walked on glass, stilts and more in an entertaining and suspenseful show.

PNE Ferris Wheel at Night — The PNE at Night

Slayland in 2020

The PNE didn’t run its usual Fright Nights event in 2020 because of the ongoing pandemic. Instead, they ran a brand-new event called Slayland. The new event didn’t feature haunted houses, like Fright Nights always does. It did, however, involve characters in costume and amusement rides.

Slayland ran on the weekends of October 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30-31 in 2020. It was also open on the last two Thursdays of the month. Tickets cost around $40.

In addition to Slayland, the PNE hosted a second Halloween event in 2020. “A Taste of the PNE Tricks & Treats Edition” was a drive-thru event. Attendees got to drive around the PNE fairgrounds in their cars and enjoy spooky sights and live entertainment. It happened on the Friday and Saturday of October 30 and 31.

To learn more about the 2020 event see our article about Slayland.