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Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), aka The Ex, is an annual event held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The CNE grew out of an annual late summer fair at a time when Toronto was the centre of a farming community. It is Canada's largest fair and the fifth largest in North America, with an average annual attendance of 1.3 million. [1] The CNE midway was operated under contract by Conklin Shows from 1937 to 2004. Following the 2004 fair season, several midway companies, including Conklin Shows, merged to form North American Midway Entertainment which is the current midway supplier to the CNE.

History

Prior to the CNE, a major agricultural fair was held in a different city every year in the province of Ontario. In 1878, Toronto hosted the fair, and it was a major success with over 100,000 visitors. Based on the success, local politicians and business groups lobbied for a permanent summer fair to be held yearly in Toronto. This was fought by other Ontario communities that feared the loss of business from having to compete with a major fair. The traveling fair allowed rural communities to get exposure that they would not normally have had.

The Toronto operators won and the first 'permanent' fair was held in 1879 as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition at what is now Exhibition Place. The current grounds from the Gardiner Expressway (north end), to Lakeshore Boulevard (south end), and from Strachan Avenue (east end), to the Dominion Gates (west end), Exhibition Place covers 196.6 acres of land. During the CNE, when all parking areas are included, such as the Gore Lot, Marilyn Bell Park, Coronation Park and Battery Park, the size of Exhibition Place swells to 260 acres.

In 1937 Patty Conklin of Conklin Shows was awarded the contract for the CNE midway and his company continued to provide this service to the CNE until 2004, at which point it merged with other leading midway operators to form North American Midway Entertainment (NAME).

The CNE was not held between 1942 and 1946, when the land and its facilities were turned over to the Department of National Defence as a training ground. After World War II, it was used as a demobilization centre.

Over the years the CNE has changed extensively to meet the needs of the growing and changing demographics of Toronto and Southern Ontario.

The Post-War Years and Modernization of the Fair

The CNE resumed in 1947, as the Canadian military returned the grounds back to its civilian administrators. Soon, the CNE turned away from a provincial, agricultural focus, and moved towards an increasingly modern, cosmopolitan look and feel.

Recent history

File:CNEMagicPass.jpg

A pair of CNE Magic Passes (2005)

Having celebrated its 125th anniversary in the summer of 2003 (even though hampered by the 2003 blackout), "The Ex" - as it is also popularly known - offers a wide variety of entertainment and events, midway rides, a working farm, parades, sports, international food and shopping, Kids' World and a three-day air show, Canadian International Air Show. The CNE is a provincially incorporated Agricultural Society and also fulfills a key program of Exhibition Place, a local board of management of the City of Toronto. The fair traditionally operates during the last 18 days of summer leading up to and including Labour Day Monday (the first Monday in September).

In the 1990s the annual fair suffered from deficits, but since 1999 it appears to have rebounded in popularity and has returned to financial stability. A 2003 Economic Impact Study conducted by Festivals and Events Ontario and the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership (OTMP) revealed that the CNE attracted more than $48 million to the City of Toronto and more than $66 million to the province of Ontario.

Current CNE programs include: Human Cannonball, Aerial Acrobatics & Ice Skating Show, IAMS SuperDogs Show, Kids' World, Kiddie Midway, Junior & Senior Rising Star Youth Talent Competition, Horse Show, The Garden Show, Ken Jen Petting Zoo, Doo Doo the Clown, costume characters, The Farm, rock sculptures, butter sculptures, sand sculptures, daily Mardi Gras parade, the Food Building and SportZone.

List of buildings at the CNE

See Main Article - Exhibition Place

References

Avigdor, Jeanine. 1994. The Scadding Cabin, 1794: Toronto's Oldest House. The York Pioneer and Historical Society. ISBN 0-9698404-0-3.
Once Upon a Century: 100 Year History of The "Ex". 1978. Ed: John Withrow. J.H. Robinson Publishing Ltd.

External links

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