Have Fun at Playland & Support Hastings Community Little League

Have you got plans on May 30th? Of course you do--our Trout Lake Family Green Ride is at 10am! ;) After the ride (or instead, I know not every Spokesmama reader will come) you should consider going to Playland to support the little league that some of our Vancouver Family Biking kids play in.

On Saturday, May 30th, $10 from every ticket sold for Playland at the PNE will be donated to the Hastings Community Little League on the fourth annual Community Day at Playland. Since 2010, the PNE has raised over $67,000 for the sports organization. This year, all proceeds will support the Hastings Little League in hosting the 2016 Little League Canadian National Tournament.

“Getting our youth outdoors & active is so important, & we are extremely excited to continue to support the Hastings Community Little League & help them bring the National Tournament to Vancouver,” said PNE President & CEO Mike McDaniel.

While the first two Community Days were extremely successful, last year's was met with soggy weather, so this year, Playland is looking to raise $25,000 for this worthy non-profit sports organization. Proceeds from the 2010 100th Anniversary Golf Tournament were also donated to the Little League.

From 10am to 12pm on the 30th, members of the Hastings Community Little League will be at the entrance to Playland thanking guests for their support, so make sure to say ‘hello’ & wish them luck in this year’s season!

For more information please visit: www.pne.ca.

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#VancityMemberDay at the PNE August 27

Membership has its perks

Are you a member of Vancity? If you are, you and a guest can explore The Fair at the PNE on Vancity Member Day, Wednesday, August 27 for only $5 each. (That’s a savings of $11 on adult admission!) You'll need to show your Vancity MEMBER CARD® debit card or Vancity enviro™ Visa* (or other form of membership verification) at The PNE. It's one day only: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 (11am – 11pm).

The PNE goes green

You can also visit the Vancity Eco Zone to find out how Vancity is supporting the PNE on their journey of going green. Get fun facts and helpful tips on how you can go green at home through fun and interactive activities. Why? Well, Vancity's bottom line includes the well-being of members and their communities, which includes environmental sustainability. On Vancity Member Day they are working towards Zero Waste at the PNE!

Ch-ch-ch-changes..

In the Vancity Eco Zone, last year’s fairgoers had a chance to make suggestions on how the PNE could be greener. Here are the changes that came as a result of that:

• A new policy to ban Styrofoam and plastic cutlery to encourage vendors to use biodegradable food packaging
• Fair vendors are not permitted to have ‘show’ lights until dusk so the PNE will decrease their energy consumption
• The PNE has a Light Bulb Eater. This gadget breaks down the bulbs; reducing labour, storage space and recycling costs.

Reduce, reuse, and RECYCLE

Through Vancity’s Zero-Waste Events initiative, 75 new recycling stations have been installed throughout fairgrounds to help PNE improve its waste reduction, recycling and composting activities. On Vancity Member Day, Green Chair Recycling will be at each station to help sort waste and share recycling tips.

Moooo!

One thing that hasn't changed at the PNE since last year's Vancity Members Day is Cowpower. What does that mean? Cowpower supports local farmers and our environment by generating renewable energy from waste cow manure. For Vancity Member Day, Vancity is cowpowering all attractions at The Fair. Seems appropriate, no? To find out how your home can be cowpowered, check out their website.

How can you be more green at the PNE? Here are some tips:

• Ride your bike to the PNE. During The Fair, there will be a complimentary Vancity-supported bicycle valet service. The bike valet stations are set up inside Gate 1. Valet your bike during The Fair to be entered to win a prize pack from Vancity community partner, PEDAL.
• Bring your water bottles on Vancity Member Day. On Vancity Member Day, August 27, a drinking-water station to refill re-usable water bottles will be provided by Metro Vancouver. 
• Dispose your waste responsibly. 75 new recycling stations have been installed to collect three streams of waste: garbage, recyclables and compostables. Please follow the signage at these stations or Green Chair Recycling staff to help the PNE divert waste from our landfills. 

See you at the Fair!

For more information, please visit Vancity's events website, RSVP at the Vancity Members Day Facebook page, and if you're tweeting or Instagramming, use the hashtag #VancityMemberDay.
     

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PNE 2013: Seven Tips for Attending with Small Children

Well, we did it. I managed to waddle around the PNE for our annual family tradition of attending Vancity Members Day. At 38 weeks & 4 days pregnant, this was quite a feat. The weather wasn't ideal, but we had fun. There are LOTS of benches to sit on everywhere & we sort of planned things so I could sit & relax in between short bursts of walking.

There are still a few days left of the Fair--it runs until September 2, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas for how to make it a fun outing when you go with little kids &/or babies along with a few highlights of what we got up to:

1.
The PNE has got some great amenities for parents of babies & toddlers. Notably, the baby zone, a couple of portables where you can change babies, warm bottles & breastfeed on a couch  in a separate room if you're not comfortable doing it al fresco. There are extra washrooms near the kiddie rides area too which are not that busy.

2.
The helicopter rides are a good bang for your buck with really small kids (even under 36"). Just two tickets gets your kid in & a parent/caregiver gets to ride for free. Ask for the list of rides that allow parents on for free at the booths in Kids Playce where you buy tickets.

Papa & Oli 'flew' in Zippy the helicopter

Over 36": tall enough for lots of rides!

3.
There are quite a few water fountains around, so keep hydrated in the lion's jaws or bring your own bottle to refill. The cheapest cold drinks we saw were $3.75!

Drinking water from the jaws of a lion? Why not?

4.
The best deal on fried snacks is pakoras at Curry in a Hurry: $3 a plate. Everything else is quite expensive. Bonus: pakoras actually have vegetables in them!

Gotta get a photo before we polish them off...

$5 corn dog. Meh.

5.

If there are big line-ups, keep walking into the park: the third or fourth mini-donut stand won't be as busy.

I can't resist these & make a beeline for them immediately upon arrival.

6.
Cloudy/showery days are much less busy if you don't mind getting slightly damp. Putting the kids in muddy buddies & gumboots mean no wet pants from benches/rides or puddles.

He might have had more fun in the puddles than one ride he tried.

7.
Check the live show schedule at beginning of your visit, or better yet online before going--we saw a farrier shoeing a police horse & caught a bit of a kids' stage show but missed out on Superdogs & the pig races as we didn't plan ahead.

8.
For our little urban boy, looking at all the animals is always a highlight of the Fair. It was also a great place to get out of the rain & sit for a bit--there are benches everywhere in there, great for resting while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Poking at some ducklings.

Did you go to the PNE this year with little kids? Got any other tips to share? Leave them in the comments below...

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