I visited the CNE in Toronto for the first time ever and I was surprised by the experience

The Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE, or “the Ex” is a hallmark of Toronto, which is why when I told people I had never been they were shocked. 

In all fairness, I have only lived in Toronto for three years now. Still, I suppose the fact that I hadn’t gone to the iconic annual summertime fair, that has been held in Toronto since 1879, is surprising.

I decided this was the year to change that. 

On opening day, Friday, August 16, the weather was pretty grey and gloomy. However, that did not stop people from coming out. Hoards of people still showed up to experience the first day of the fair. 

Upon arrival, the first thing that struck me was the scale. In my hometown of Brooklyn, New York, we have almost everything—but there’s nothing quite like this.

I’m used to amusement park rides at Coney Island’s Luna Park and fried boardwalk food. But a fair of this size is not typical of most big cities like NYC, at least not in the United States. That’s one thing I’ve got to hand to Toronto. Large-scale malls, fairs and other infrastructure that usually requires suburban or rural sprawl, manage to be integrated into Toronto’s urban core. I think that makes this city pretty unique. 
The historic grounds at Exhibiton Place are huge and could take hours to explore with all of the CNE festivities. Walking up Princes Blvd, there were numerous outdoor vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry, keychains, artwork, prints and other standard carnival goods.I decided to head to the food hall to see what sustinence the CNE had to offer.

Along the way, I passed by many carnival staples—games where you can win a stuffed prize by popping a balloon with a dart or knocking something over with a ball; rollercoasters, a log ride and two ferris wheels; and stands selling funnel cake, corn dogs, fried pickles, lemonade and other carnival classics. Inside the food hall, more substantial meals were for sale. Some of the vendors were popular restaurant chains, others where unknown brands serving up experimental food offerings—something the CNE has become known for. 

The most unusual items I encountered ranged from chicken tenders encrusted with Fruity Pebbles, to Kool Aid-flavoured fried chicken sandwiches, to burgers using Uncrustables as buns. 

These were a little too out-there for my liking. Needless to say, I did not end up trying them. One thing I noticed about the food, novelty or not, it was quite expensive.

Although this is to be expected at most amusement parks, fairs and carnivals. After I left the food hall, I ran into Justin Trudeau. No, I’m not kidding.

I don’t know if it can get any more quintessentially Canadian than bumping into the Prime Minister at the CNE. 

Trudeau was swarmed by people and took photos with fair-goers while passing through the crowd. Not interested in the mob, I stood off to the side until I could safely continue on my way.
A couple things I was not expecting to see take place were a championship wrestling match and gambling. While quite obviously staged, the wrestling match did succeed in getting the crowd riled up. Onlookers cheered on and booed the wrestlers. 

I also discovered a game where you could place bets and then an attendant would spin a wheel to determine your winnings. Later, I would even find a dedicated casino section to my surprise. 

Apart from the open-air areas with vendors, games and rides, there are also several buildings open to the public on the exhibition grounds. 

Each felt a bit like a convention centre. In one building, there was additional shopping to be done. Mattresses, massage chairs, jewelry and even shoes were being sold a various outlets. 

This felt a little out of place at the CNE, but I suppose it is not all that surprising given Exhibition Place’s history as a trading post and venue for consumer and trade shows. 
Further into the building, there was a pop-up called the “CNE Gaming Garage” sponsored by Intel, where people were free to play a variety of PC video games on Intel computers. Again, cool but a little odd for the CNE. In a seperate building, I came across another unexpected twist. Inside there was a “farm” with animals such as pigs and goats to look at and giant hay bales for kids to climb. Right when I thought I had seen everything there was to do at the CNE, I stumbled upon the Bell CNE Bandshell where the Paul Langlois Band and Sloan were playing. 

Although it had begun raining at this point, this didn’t dampen people’s spirits. Underneath their raincoats and umbrellas, people were singing and dancing. 

My biggest takeaway from the CNE is that there’s truly a bit of everything. Visitors can easily spend a day at the CNE without running out of things to do and there’s something for everyone.

Would I go again? My answer would be yes. The CNE seems to be the perfect send-off to summer, to get that one last taste of the summertime in before fall. I’m sure it will be a summer tradition of mine every August for years to come.