Canadian National Exhibition

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CNE midway
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CNE midway

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) 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 now the oldest annual fair in the world. It is Canada's largest annual fair and the fifth largest in the world, with an average attendance of 1.3 million. [1] The midway was operated under contract by Conklin Shows from 1937 to 2005. During the 2006 exhibition, North American Midway Entertainment took over for the now defunct Conklin Holdings, Inc.

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[edit] 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 the Exhibition Place grounds. The current grounds from the Gardiner Expressway (north end), to Lakeshore Blvd., (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 260 acres.

In 1937 Patty Conklin of Conklin Shows was awarded the contract for the CNE midway. Until 2006, Conklin Shows had provided the midway at the CNE every year the Exhibition has been open since 1937.

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.

[edit] The Post-War Years and Modernization of the Fair

Early CNE midway sign
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Early CNE midway sign

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.

[edit] Recent history

A pair of CNE Magic Passes (2005)
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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 known - holds several trades shows and spectacles, ranging from performing dogs to the Canadian International Air Show. It traditionally operates for the last three weeks of the summer, ending on Labour Day (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 suffered only one deficit since then. Since 1997 there has been talk about merging the administration and staffing of Exhibition Place and the adjacent Ontario Place as a cost-cutting and efficiency measure, as both currently operate with three boards and four separate sets of staff [2].

Its current programs include: Kids World, Kiddie Midway, Ken Jen petting zoo, Doo Doo the Clown, costume characters, "farm, food and fun", Eukanuba Superdogs, rock sculptures, butter sculptures, sand sculptures, human cannonball, daily parades, Food Building and the Rogers Sportzone.

[edit] List of buildings at the CNE

See Main Article - Exhibition Place

[edit] See also

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

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