New Brunswick·NewParker Berriault, a 24-year old documentary filmmaker, remembers his childhood spent at amusement park Crystal Palace in Dieppe, which has been closed since 2014. When he found himself in the hospital with health complications, he reflected on those memories, inspiring him to create a self-funded documentary called See You at the Palace, premiering Wednesday. After closing in 2014, Crystal Palace is now the subject of a local documentaryHannah Rudderham · CBC News · Posted: Nov 18, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Filmmaker Parker Barriault wanted to capture the history of Crystal Palace and memories people have of it through a new documentary called, See You at the Palace. The amusement park has been closed since Sept. 1, 2014. (CBC)Where a Bass Pro Shop now sits, a Dieppe complex of nostalgia once stood — Crystal Palace. For a whole generation of Moncton residents and countless visitors, the amusement park, which has been closed for 11 years, was a place of childhood wonder.Parker Barriault, a 24-year-old documentary filmmaker, has his own memories from the park, which have inspired him to create a self-funded documentary called See You at the Palace, premiering Wednesday.“I think the biggest thing that was lost is a gathering space that’s year-round… for people to just go and do stuff, whether that’s arcade games, or laser tag, or mini-putt, or rides, or movies, or restaurants, or science,” said Barriault about the park, which closed for good on Sept. 1, 2014. “Nothing replaced it.”Parker Barriault moved to Toronto in January 2025 for film school, but quickly ended up in the hospital with health complications. During that time he started thinking about his childhood memories of Crystal Palace — the subject of his new documentary. (Parker Barriault)Crystal Palace opened in February 1990, and featured attractions like rides, games, a science centre, a gift shop, restaurants and a hotel. When Cadillac Fairview Corporation announced the ultimate closure of the centre, it upset many regulars and tourists.Barriault wanted his documentary to present the history of the complex and also highlight some of the personal memories visitors to Crystal Palace made over the years. Jean-Marc Boudreau, one of the 20 people Barriault interviewed for the film, said he remembers every trip to Crystal Palace feeling like the best day of his life as a kid.“I can very vividly remember going as a kid with my cousin and we’d go on the train 40 times in a row,” said Boudreau. “Then fast-forward to working there as a teenager and you see the same thing, like you see kids riding the train 40 times in a row.”Crystal Palace opened in February 1990. In 2014, Cadillac Fairview Corp. announced its closure. (CBC)For Barriault — who grew up in Moncton — Crystal Palace brings back fond memories of birthday parties, weekend visits or March Break excursions to the theme park. ‘Simpler times when I had no worries’Those memories also resurfaced for him during a difficult time in his life.After attending his first filmmaking class at the Toronto Film School in January, he got sick and spent five weeks in and out of the hospital. He had to have surgery for complications related to pneumonia and then doctors found a cancerous tumour in his lung.“Things just kind of felt like they were spiraling out of control in a way,” he said.The original Crystal Palace included rides, games, a science centre, a gift shop, restaurants and a hotel. (CBC)From there, Barriault had to drop out of film school and move back to Moncton in preparation for a bigger surgery to remove half of his lung and the tumour. “When you’re in the hospital and when time is standing still, you always reminisce on, you know, your childhood, and one of the big things for me was thinking about Crystal Palace,” Barriault said. “Those simpler times when I had no worries and I was just a kid.”In July, when his health was in a more stable place, telling the story of Crystal Palace through film started to become more real.
From swings and a crazy submarine to the screen: This Moncton filmmaker is reviving memories of Crystal Palace
