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Relive Beatles mayhem at PNE

Indulge your Jurassic World and superhero fantasies too

On the flight from Los Angeles to Toronto, Peter Miniaci was nervous about the signed Double Fantasy album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono he had in his carry-on bag.

Scribbled across the album was one of the last autographs Lennon gave before being shot Dec. 8, 1980. It was, ironically, for Mark David Chapman who murdered Lennon two hours later. Miniaci was the go-between for a Toronto patron willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and a collector who managed to get a hold of the album kept in police custody after Lennon’s death.

Miniaci, an owner of the Beatlemania Shoppe in Toronto for 13 years, was on edge before the plane departed. At the last minute, he saw a man walking up to the empty seat in front of him wearing a Beatles T-shirt.

“I thought that is a great synchronicity. It’s sort of like God saying ‘you’re going to be okay.’”

He then fought the urge to show the fan the album. “I didn’t really want to cause a commotion.”

The album along with other Beatles memorabilia, such as their official breakup letter post-Lennon, will be making their world premiere at The Fair at the PNE's opening day Aug. 22. It also happens to be the 51st anniversary of the Beatles’ only concert in Vancouver held in 1964 at Empire Stadium. A concert which Canadian disc jockey Red Robinson said turned the city into sheer “pandemonium” drawing the biggest crowd on their 1964 world tour of more than 20,000 fans.

Some of the items on display belong to Jim Cushman who has been collecting since 1985. He describes a collector’s years of dedication to assemble an authentic collection.

“Ninety-nine per cent of the autographs that are out there now are fake because of the value of Beatles memorabilia. So you really have to know who you’re buying from and what you’re buying.”

He is one of four collectors from the U.S. and Canada who started assembling the exhibit 10 years ago. 

“It’s not something you can do over night. It’s something that you really, really have to do a lot of homework.”

For those more familiar with Batman and the Hulk than The Beatles, the PNE has an interactive exhibit for superhero fans. It’s a chance to live those fantasies with games that test hand and eye coordination. Visitors can also walk through time machines and explore wind tunnels at the Hall of Heroes Exhibit.

If you survive the outdoor Jurassic experience with 13 dinosaurs, eight of them life-sized moving models and five statues, a craft beer festival featuring local brews awaits. The licensed area will feature 20 vendors Aug. 22 to 30 and a new group of 20 vendors Sept. 1 to 8. For foodies looking for incentives to run 5-km, they can participate in this year’s inaugural Donut Dash where runners will be fed treats like mini donuts and cotton candy throughout the course.

This year’s PNE will feature many firsts. In addition to the first craft beer festival, Beatles exhibit and Donut Dash, it’ll be the first time a Broadway show, Peter Pan, will be staged at the Pacific Coliseum nightly at 7:30 p.m. Shows are free with admission to The Fair.

But for fairgoers who like the more traditional, old favourites, including the Superdogs, Safeway Farm Country and Summer Night Concerts are set to return. The Fair runs from Aug. 22 to Sept.7 (closed Aug. 24 and 31). For more information, visit www.pne.ca.

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