Speaking of Vancouver and things from our storage locker:
At a New Year’s party, I was talking to a couple of people about Expo 86 memories. I’ve got a crap memory–the only things I recall with any kind of clarity are the monorail, Rainbow War and Highway 86. The Vancouver Parks Board has a rockin’ 20th anniversary site for those who want to relive their summer at Expo 86.
What are your Expo 86 memories?
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I was in primary school in Quebec City and a girl from our class, who was high on drugs most of the time because her brother was a pusher went to Expo. That’s it. 🙂
My Dad was disappointed that we didn’t go to Expo 67 even though we lived in Toronto at the time, so he made a point of taking us to later “Expos” in Spokane (forget the date: 74, I think), and Vancouver.
I liked the giant Swatch (or was it a Bulova?), and the remote-controlled helium-filled “flying saucer” inside the B.C. Pavillion.
I remember that enormous yellow thing, too. It was definitely a Swatch.
What are your Expo 86 memories?
Protesting the thousands of evictions of long-time Downtown Eastside residents to free up hotel space for tourist. Oh, and paying twelve years of additional taxes to pay for the event, that was fun too.
Really looking forward to paying additional taxes for the two-week sporting event in 2010.
I wish I still could find my Expo pass – I was wearing a yellow sweater my grandma knit me, and my hair was huge! (No one gets perms anymore.)
The thing I remember about Expo was collecting all those ride coupons from boxes of Nalley’s chips. I remember also how they had to change the name of the Challenger ride to ??? Starship something ??? because of the Challenger disaster.
Expo was a hoot. We were so sad the day after it closed.
As a long-time nerd, I recall Expo as the place a bunch of us BBS modem geeks set up a meetup, so we could see each other in person for the first time. A couple of those people ended up being my roommates, and one still plays guitar in my band.
My friend Chris and I discovered the Spirit Lodge show early in the year, before it became a big deal, and just walked in. Weeks later, there were constant two-hour lineups to see it.
Also being a season’s pass holder, I would head down there for dinner often enough, or just to walk around. I watched the last fireworks from Granville Island in October of that year, which was also the autumn I started university — Expo coincided with my high-school graduation year.
After it was all over, I bought one of the teal-zone monorail pylon identifier plaques at the big auction sale at BC Place, a huge metal thing, with the number 42 on it (also a geeky number, of course).
I also remember my grandmother, who was then 76, going there almost every day, even though she needed a hip replacement (which she got a couple of years later).
I also went there once with my then girlfriend, who was terrified of sudden loud noises (balloons popping, fireworks, etc.), and we somehow ended up not leaving until the fireworks started. She and I sat in a restaurant while she cowered until it was over.
It was also, I think, the only place I ever saw the RCMP Musical Ride.
My pass has a photo of me crying my eyes out. My brother always joked that every time we entered the gates I’d have to make a sobby/pouty face so that they would know it was me.
We went every weekend. I liked the monorail on which I got lost, and the “Expo Passport” that you could fill up with stamps from various pavilions you’d visit.
And now you’ve inspired me to post a couple pics on Flickr
I visited Vancouver in 1986, and did not return until 2003. Yet it left an imprint on my mind because when I first got here, parts of the downtown looked familiar. I remembered the mono rail, the Saskatchewan pavilion (where an actress ran out and got into a car), the BC pavilion with cool First Nations masks, and staying with my grandma out in Surrey. We also bought Expo 86 t-shirts. I also had my first celebrity sighting ever; my family and I saw Michael Gross (Stephen Keaton from Family Ties) taking in Expo with his real-life family.
I also remember digging for clams on the beach and the creepy man that my grandma was married to. (Shudders)
For some reason, this post is giving me a google ad for lesbiancanada.com, which cracks me up.
I lived in Nanaimo and went to Expo twice. I was really upset that my parents threw away the third ticket in the three-visit pass. It was cheaper to buy three tickets than 2, I guess. And they didn’t have enough money to take us to Vancouver for the day for a third time, given the cost of the ferry and BC Transit. I’m glad working my way through university has since worked out for me.
I remember the Wall of China, the Saskatchewan Pavilion, the parachute drop, the log flume, Plaza of Nations and lunch at Boston Pizza (on site). And that lunch cost a small fortune because you weren’t allowed to brown bag it.
Since I was only 6 at the time, my strongest memory is of waiting in line with my parents and my then 4-year old brother for what seemed like hours to get in, and fighting with my brother like a good sibling should. Oh, and my dad bought me a hot dog, which was a HUGE treat, and I think I remember something about a domino display.
Crazy the things that kids remember eh?