Challenge
Make history fun … and strategic
The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) has been part of British Columbia’s cultural identity since 1910. Over the decades, its grounds have hosted everything from farm shows to roller coasters to musical legends. It’s the place where families return each summer for mini doughnuts, SuperDogs, and memories made in wooden rollercoaster fear.
But when the PNE approached its centennial in 2010, it wasn’t just a party to mark a remarkable run. It was also a pivotal moment for the institution’s future.
The land the PNE sat on was under long-term review by the City of Vancouver. Leadership knew the next phase of its development would require public support, civic memory, and emotional connection. Not just zoning documents or policy briefs.
They needed a book that would do more than mark a milestone. They needed something that would:
- Make the case for the PNE’s enduring cultural relevance
- Spark civic pride
- Engage readers of all ages
- And win hearts, not just minds
In other words, it had to be fun, but it also had to work.
Solution
100 years of visual, joyful proof
Echo worked with the PNE to produce 100 Years of Fun, a centennial book that was part love letter, part historical archive, and part planning plea.
We started with deep archival research: decades of press clippings, ephemera, city records, and photos going back to the earliest fairs. Then we interviewed long-time staff, volunteers, and community members to surface the stories behind the rides, parades, and iconic Playland moments.
The book’s structure moved chronologically but flexibly, blending key events with thematic storytelling:
- The PNE’s role in wartime and postwar Vancouver
- Its evolution from agricultural fair to urban amusement hub
- How the institution has responded to cultural shifts, changing demographics, and new ideas about entertainment
Design was central to the book’s appeal.
We used:
- High-impact archival photography spanning a century of B.C. life
- Custom infographics showing attendance patterns, food stats, event highlights, and civic contributions
- Full-bleed imagery and layered layouts to reflect the PNE’s sensory overload and joy
- Marginalia and pop-out facts to engage even casual readers
Despite the density of content, the tone remained upbeat, colourful, and civic-minded, just like the fair itself.
This was a legacy publication with cotton candy fingerprints, and that was by design.
Result
A celebration that persuaded
100 Years of Fun did exactly what it needed to do.
It reminded readers why the PNE mattered not just as a summer event, but as part of the social fabric of the province.
Copies went to city councillors, donors, and community leaders. The book also became a collector’s item among attendees and alumni, offering a mix of nostalgia and local pride. It proved that smart storytelling and smart design can go hand in hand.
More than anything, the book helped re-anchor the PNE as a place of shared memory, just as conversations about its future were gaining urgency.
That’s not easy to do with funfair content. But that was the strategy: win them with joy.
In 2011, 100 Years of Fun won an Independent Publisher Book Award under the Canada-West – Best Regional Non-Fiction category.
One more cool thing...
A visual archive with a civic spine
This wasn’t just a feel-good keepsake. It was a dense, data-rich, narrative-driven archive in disguise.
Behind the colourful cover were pages of infographics on economic impact, attendance trends, performance highlights, and city-building outcomes.
For city planners and community advocates, it offered substance. For families, it offered popcorn and parades.
It was the rare book that could sit in a councillor’s briefcase or a family’s bookshelf and feel right at home in both.
Another fun footnote … Grammy-winning musician and Vancouverite Michael Bublé got his start at the PNE and agreed to pen a moving foreword for the book.
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