Toronto: Summer fun at the Canadian National Exhibition

Watching the world go by – while riding the Merry-go-round, waiting patiently in the amphitheater for the acrobatic show to begin, slurping down a strawberry ice-cream after demolishing a massive fried treat, finding a nice spot to sit to watch the street performance, smiling ear to ear to get a picture clicked with your favorite costumed character and just enjoying a glorious summer day – Doesn’t it all sound like childhood days at the fair?

Oh, so true.

For us, it was like reliving those days at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), this year. The trip to the Exhibition or popularly known as ‘the ex’, was planned a day before – the parking info, list of events & the timings and most importantly, getting our express tickets online to avoid any lines.

On Saturday, we were at the Exhibition place by 11 and were let in really fast as we had the tickets already. We entered near the parking lot 6, so we began the day from the Kids’ world – it was abuzz with kids and the kiddie ride area was super crowded as well. The rides were bright & colorful and there were plenty to choose from. Parents were waiting near the rides while their kids were enjoying their weekend rides happily.

From here, we moved on to see the Arts & Crafts exhibition which was right next to the Marketplace. It was very interesting – there were paintings, candles, ancient costumes, bags and so many different things available for sale. After spending some time there, we left from the other gate and next on the list was the sky ride. Its a famous attraction of the exhibition and the line to get on was pretty long too.

Rather than waiting in the line, we decided to come back here later in the day. And instead, had a good time at the Northern Comfort Saloon where the bull ride was quite a crowd puller. Then, on to the midway rides, I was looking forward to it. The first ride for us at the CNE was the scary ‘Fire Ball’, what a mind-blowing ride it was. And then, as if this wasn’t enough, the next one just made us experience another level of crazy – it was the ring of fire, I guess.

We really enjoyed our time at the Midway rides and then it was time to eat. Fair food is always fried food, so we stuck to it and it was fried chicken & potato wedges for lunch. After a hearty meal, we walked to the Prince’s Boulevard, and then to the international Pavilion – a marketplace where one can buy stuff from all over the world. We had a great time strolling through the stalls before coming back to the boulevard for the ‘Hockey Circus’ and then the ‘Flying Wallandas’. Both the shows were very impressive.

And the most awaited of all was the ‘acrobatic show’ in the Ricoh Colesium, quite close to the International Pavilion and we moved quickly to get a good spot. Another famous attraction and by the time the show began, the auditorium was filled to the brim. Yet another perfect performance, we were so happy not to have missed it. After a series of brilliant shows, we went to the marketplace to have the super delicious massive strawberry funnel cake sundae.

And on our way back to the parking lot, we saw the Canadian Armed Forces display, garden show, the food building and Reptilia. What a wonderful day, it was !

Goes without saying, we will be back at the CNE next year.

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