PNE prize home is the best one yet

“Win a house! Win a car!”

This iconic phrase has been shouted out at the PNE for almost 80 years, encouraging fairgoers to buy ticket for a chance to win their dream home.

The PNE Prize Home Lottery has changed with the times since the first home was awarded in 1934. The prize home of the 1930s was a modest 800 square feet. It also didn’t travel very far. The home was put on giant Douglas firs and rolled into the neighbourhood just across Renfrew Street.

These early prize homes played an integral part in the development of the area.

“They couldn’t take them very far, at the time the PNE was in the wilderness of Vancouver,” says Laura Ballance, spokesperson for the PNE.

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“A lot of the prize homes were the first on their street, so the community grew up around these homes.”

Today’s prize home is a stunning West Coast family residence. There are three bedrooms spread over 3,000 square feet. The home features a dramatic double height dining room. There are two large decks and a garage.

The interior design was done by Jillian Harris of “The Bachelorette” fame.

The home will moved to the Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops this fall. It takes about three weeks for the home to be re-assembled at the new site. The prize home is actually pre-fabricated by Britco Structures, which allows the home to be moved in pieces a long distance.

120,000 hopefuls tour through the prize home during the 17 days of the PNE. 180,000 sheets of five tickets each are sold for a chance to win. Ticket buyers are also eligible to win one of 12 cars.

“It really is the everyman’s lottery, and that’s why it’s so loved. We have people who came through with their grandparents and now they are coming through with their grandchildren,” says Ballance.

Revenues from the lottery go to help programs at the PNE such as the 4-H club, along with charities and community organizations.

The prize home will be given away to a lucky ticket holder on September 6 at 6:30 p.m., live on the Global BC News Hour.