(Above: A pimple-ridden teenage me next to the McBarge)

Those who know me best know that I’ve got some… Abnormal interests. For instance, I’m a big Expo 86 fan, despite being born 17 years after the fair ended. Where did this fascination come from? Well, right across the Fraser from my hometown of Langley lies a legendary piece of Expo history: the McBarge. 

In 2017, Bright Sun Films, one of my favorite Youtubers at the time, uploaded a strange video to his channel, specifically in his ongoing “Abandoned” series. It was about this odd white barge, that was apparently a floating McDonald’s restaurant at one point. I was immediately intrigued by the concept, it was so captivatingly abnormal. Things got really interesting when i learned this McBarge was literally 20 minutes from my doorstep. Across from McMillan Island, in the waters near the old Albion Ferry terminal in Maple Ridge, the barge had sat moored for years after being moved there from it’s last resting spot in the Burrard Inlet.  

Years went by. I didn’t have a driver’s license, so I never got the opportunity to visit the barge in-person. That was until 2022, when I had the idea to feature McBarge in an episode of the variety program I hosted at my high school. I remember taking my dad with me to be my camera man, and with next to no idea of how we’d actually get to the barge itself, we started the journey. When we reached our destination, the area around the waterfront was expectedly private property. So what did we do? Well, we  trespassed of course! (Disclaimer: Evolution does not condone trespassing, even if it’s to see the McBarge) Once we reached the river’s edge, the barge came into view. It was old, dirty, and covered in wooden boards. In other words, it was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. 

It was one of the highlights of my high school experience, but unfortunately, my unique history with McBarge would be quite different during university. It was my second semester at BCIT, the day was March 19th, 2025. We were in the midst of our media lab, and I was tasked with creating a short podcast episode on a topic of local interest, so of course the McBarge was the subject I chose. I went all out, music, ambience from footage of the crowds at Expo, the whole 9 yards. I concluded the episode by stating my belief that the McBarge might be doomed to sink to the bottom of the Fraser, as it’s seemingly worsening condition pointed too. As it turns out, I was right on the money. 

One week to the day after I released the episode, I got the news. McBarge had sunk. Not completely, but the damage was likely beyond repair. The barge was in rough shape, but saying it would sink was intended to be overly dramatic on my part. Some claim that I sunk the barge due to my unusually accurate prediction, but I’m not capable of such a crime, especially when it’s target was my beloved McBarge. 

I haven’t been to the grave site yet, I can’t bear to see it. Hyperbole aside, I wish I could’ve visited more often. Such a unique piece of history deserves better than to rot into the river, and although the McBarge is now but a memory, it can rest easy knowing it had people that cared about it, like me.

Oh, and if any particularly wealthy readers of this article would like to help me finance the restoration of the barge, please contact me with the email listed below.  

Rest in Peace McBarge (1986-2025)

Bright Sun Film’s original video: https://youtu.be/W9mc4PsXU5E?si=8JXHBWE-lutw5yJk

Written by Noah Schmidt

Contact: nschmidt20@my.bcit.ca