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. Playland Hallowed Eves happened last year and Fright Nights returns in October 2022.

In 2020 instead of Fright Nights there was Slayland. In 2021 the Pacific National Exhibition held a new Halloween-themed event, but without haunted houses because of COVID-19.

Fortunately, Fright Nights returns in 2022 with its usual haunted houses and rides. For details about this year’s Halloween-themed event, see our article about Fright Nights or click frightnights.ca. Also happening in 2022 is Tricks & Treats which is when younger children and their families can play on the amusement rides and do a candy scavenger hunt on the weekend of October 29th and 30th.

Halloween Events at the PNE

Below is information about the Playland Hallowed Eves event that happened at the PNE in 2021. There is also information about what happened at the Pacific National Exhibition in October in past years, as well as what’s happening in 2022.

For tickets and more information about the event in 2022 see the Fright Nights website.

Halloween at the PNE — Halloween Monsters at Playland

Playland Hallowed Eves in 2021

The 2021 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.

When Was Playland Hallowed Eves

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.

The gates were open at the event between 6:00 and 11:00 pm on Sundays and from 6:00 pm until midnight every other day.

Ticket Prices and Admission

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.

Note: Tickets had to be purchased in advance. Also, to get in, you had to provide proof of being vaccinated. Up until October 23rd you needed to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. After October 24th you had to provide proof of being fully vaccinated.

For tickets and more information click Playland Hallowed Eves for the PNE’s website.

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 pushed the limits of the human body with sword swallowing and other dangerous acts on select nights.
Bella Bizarre – a performance artist walked on glass, stilts and more in an entertaining and suspenseful show.

PNE Ferris Wheel at Night — The PNE at Night

Halloween in 2020

The PNE didn’t run its usual Fright Nights event in 2020 because of the coronavirus 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 or visit the official Slayland Website.

For tickets and more information click Playland Hallowed Eves for the PNE’s website.

Halloween Before COVID and in 2022

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.

After a two-year hiatus, Fright Nights is happening again in 2022. The event features seven first-rate haunted houses. There is also live entertainment, plus lots of amusement rides.

In 2022 Fright Nights happens on October 7-9, 14-16, 20-23, and 26-31.

Tickets for Fright Nights at the gate in 2022 range between about $45 and $55 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.