When Renata Gebert left her basement suite to head off to the BCNE fairgrounds at Exhibition Park, she had no idea until she opened the door it was raining outside.
But that didn't stop her and her friend from sticking to their plan to check out the rides at the midway. After three days of sunshine drew long lineups, they arrived for their ride on the Hurricane and nobody was ahead of them waiting to go on. Until the clouds parted later in the day, the rain kept people away from most of the rides.
"I used to work for Huble Homestead so I came here every year and this year I have the time to actually go on the rides, so I decided to do it," said the 24-year-old Gebert, a UNBC masters student in English.
"I haven't been on the rides in 15 years. The most terrifying one was the Skymaster, which looks more like the Thigh Master. It holds you upside-down for probably like two seconds but it feels like 20 minutes. I regretted it as soon as I got on it.
"We went on the tower one (Super Shot) and that scared the crap out of us because it took so long to get up to the top and then it just drops you. We just take breaks on the carousel when we feel sick. We have an all-day pass and after we're all done we'll enjoy the food."
The Hurricane consists of six cars on long arms that spin on a central axis. As the ride speeds up, centrifugal forces build up and people in the cars are flung out horizontally until they are at right angles with the ground.
"The lines were 30 feet long (on Saturday), today you can just walk on, it's more fun when it's busy," said 20-year-old Hurricane operator Elliotte Carriere of Prince Albert, Sask. "This is a pretty popular ride. At least once a day I have to get out the hose and bucket to clean up the puke."
Carriere joined up with West Coast Amusements in June in Melfort, Sask,, and has followed the circuit to fairs all over Western Canada. He'd never been to Prince George or B.C. before he started working the rides. Sunday was his last day before he returns to Prince Albert to go back to school.
"I just wanted to make some money and travel around, it's pretty fun, you meet a lot of people every day," Carriere said. "B.C. is pretty nice. I'm making $550 a week."
It was an extremely slow day on the midway Sunday for ride operator Ed MacKay. Rain and his ride, The Zipper, don't mix. It works on rubber tires and steel cables and wheels and when they get wet it gets too slippery to make it work.
The 54-year-old from Vancouver joined the carnival/fair circuit in 1978 and for six or seven months until winter sets in he's on the road traveling from coast to coast.
"The fairs are all pretty much the same but I think it's good work," said MacKay.
"I used to be a long-haul truck driver. Bumper cars are my usual ride but I've been on The Zipper today and Saturday. It was packed last night."
Rides, amusement games, unusual fast food items, live entertainers and art displays weren't the only BCNE draw for Gebert. Her mom raises chickens and she always looks forward to seeing the cochins, a chicken breed known for their excessive plummages, which were on display in the 4-H barn.
"I like that the BCNE mixes livestock with more contemporary entertainment at the same time. It still tries to hold true to its (Prince George Exhibition) roots and I like that about it," she said. "It supports the 4-H and the kids are still into that. That's really important."
