CEREMONIES
NATIONAL DAYS
SPECIALIZED PERIODS
Land
Expo
Steam
Expo
Marine
Expo
Air
Expo
The
last day was said to have been the busiest day of the fair. The
peak
of the tourist season was
over and most of the people visiting at that
time were Vancouverites. Getting anywhere fast was
more of a
chore
than a pleasure and it didn't take much imagination to assume the
crowds
of
people bumping into each other were the same crowds that shopped for
Christmas presents on
December 24th.
People
in long queues waited to get into the pavilions they enjoyed the first
time around and
waited in even longer queues to see the pavilions they
held off visiting until the last minute.
Then there was the rush
to get those stamps needed to complete the Expo Passport. It was
common to hear people mention that they were scrambling from pavilion
to
pavilion to find that
perfect souvenir seen months before but they
forgot
which pavilion the illusive treasure was in?
Still, spirits were
high until the evening set in when it was time for the pavilions to
close
their
doors for the last time.
After
the pavilions turned off their lights, the remaining fireworks were set
ablaze for a grand finale.
Every vantage point imaginable was
lined
thick with people trying to get one last look. The
prominade was
darkened for the double-length show. Afterwards, the usual PA
anouncement
urging visitors to "come back again" was absent. The lights
remained
dim. But, one beacon of
light shone brighter than all
others.
Lit in gleeming white sparklers in the middle of False Creek
shedding tears
of fire to the water below a single word illuminated the shores of Expo
'86 ---
"GOODBYE"
Expo '86 was over.
There
was a closing night bash to say thank you to all the volunteers and
Expo
86 employees. On
the program below, notice that the entertainment
included some rising stars including Ryan Styles
who would go on to
make
it famous in "The Drew Carey Show" and "Who's Line is it Anyway."
