The 2024 kicks off Friday, Dec. 6, with indoor and outdoor holiday entertainment on the fairgrounds in East Vancouver.
The annual event is among the largest and most popular December attractions in the region, alongside the Glow light show in Langley, Cloverdale's new Noel festival and market, Bright Nights at Stanley Park, at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and Grouse Mountain's Peak of Christmas, among others.
Presented at Hastings Park by BCAA, the winter version of the PNE fair features WinterLights displays, skating and Ice Bumper Cars at the Agrodome, a PNE Express Train, Magic of Santa Holiday Musical, ferris wheel and Berry-Go-Round rides, midway games, a winter chalet for drinks and warmth, holiday eats and sweet treats, a market and more, closing Dec. 23.
Nutcracker on Ice also returns with twice-nightly performances at Pacific Coliseum, where skaters will twist, flip, dance and prance to Tchaikovsky's famous music.
In Ice Creative Entertainment Group's show, the cast of elite skaters includes B.C.-based Jeremy Ten (three-time Canadian national medallist) and Sammi Marchant (former Canadian skating champ and international medallist).
After 14 years of skating worldwide as a principal performer, Marchant transitioned to coaching and consulting for skaters and circus artists, involving work at CircusWest on the PNE grounds. In 2023 she came out of retirement to skate and perform an aerial circus act in Nutcracker on Ice, and returns for the 2024 run of PNE Winter Fair shows.
"Start to finish, the show run last year was an absolute delight, and I think any of the returning cast members would tell you that they're coming back because it was so fun," Marchant said in a phone call during rehearsals.
"I think the most surprising thing for all of us was the volume of people who came to see the show," she added. "We had sold-out shows most nights, when there were people all the way to the top of that big building. In the show finale we tell the crowd to turn on their phone lights and that was incredible, just so many people. it was such a cool experience."
Marchant performs an aerial rope act 30 feet in the air and, like other cast members, wears several different costumes during the ice show.
"It's very family-friendly, of course, and a great way to get out of the rain, possibly, to enjoy some great theatrics including flips and fire in the show," she said. "Last year a lot of people kind of stumbled in and seemed delighted and surprised by the show and how entertaining it is."
Admission prices, event dates and photos of PNE Winter Fair attractions are posted on .
