Surrey sisters Mekaela and Marlowe Reyes are helping to make a bit of history during the PNE’s revised fair this week.
With the usual summer event scrapped due to COVID-19, now planned is “A Taste of the PNE: Drive-Thru Fair Experience” starting Saturday, Aug. 22, and ending Sunday, Aug. 30, for a total of eight days, with the attraction closed on Monday, Aug. 24.
The Reyes girls will dance during the fair’s Reverse Parade, a chance to “feel the rhythm of a Summer Celebration as you become part of the show,” according to a post at pne.ca. “Honk your horn, wave, and make some noise as you drive through a Reverse Parade route line with dancers, puppets, and blast of colour and fun.”
It’s all part of the 2020 PNE’s promise of “The Most Fun on Four Tires” at the fair site in East Vancouver, with more expedition that exhibition offered this year.
“This is our first year being part of the PNE, but we were part of the Canada Day drive-thru that happened at the Pacific Coliseum earlier this year, which was fun,” said Mekaela, 18.
“The Canada Day event was more freestyle dancing, but for this we have more specific dances that we had to learn, more choreography as part of the show,” added Marlowe, 16.
“This time it will be the same kind of thing, dancing and interacting with the audience, with a little bit of a different role for us – as flower pot heads, that’s how we can describe it,” Mekaela said with a laugh.
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The Holy Cross-schooled Reyes sisters are lifelong members of Surrey-based PraiseTEAM, the dance company founded in 1997 by their mother, Mary Elizabeth Ebo-Reyes (aka Tita Beth), with the help of husband, Rolando Reyes.
As a duo, the girls dance as Sisterhood at competitions and shows.
“We are delighted to have Mekaela and Marlowe join our cast of performers for this historic drive-thru PNE Fair,” said PNE Creative Director Patrick Roberge. “We are so happy we have created a COVID-safe environment that allows us to have ‘live performers’ entertain our guests. We hope all of Surrey comes out to cheer on Mekaela and Marlowe in our Summer Celebration Reverse Parade.”
The 2020 PNE drive-thru experience will give guests a taste of traditional fair favourites, including SuperDogs Tail-Gate Party, barnyard animals, fair food, a “Dino Drive” featuring larger-than-life dinosaurs, the reverse parade, and PNE Prize Home drive-thru ticket sales.
The attraction is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Admission is $25 per carload (no limit on the number of passengers), via ticketleader.ca. The price includes two tickets to the Fair 2021 (per vehicle) and a PNE face mask.
Playland will also be open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays until Sept. 7.
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