As you know, last weekend we spent a day at the CNE watching my son’s girlfriend in the Ambassador of the Fairs competition.
The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as the Ex, is Canada’s largest fair and the seventh largest fair in North America. The first Canadian National Exhibition took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Canada. It was originally called the Toronto Industrial Exhibition. It was renamed in 1912 to the Canadian National Exhibition. The fair itself consists of a variety of pavilions, exhibits, shows, concerts, a working farm, horse show, petting zoo, casino, and a large carnival midway with rides, games and food. What used to be an exhibition just for agriculture and technology has now turned into an event for families and people of all ages to enjoy. To many people in Toronto and the surroundings communities, the CNE is an annual family tradition.
When I was a child, the CNE was a huge tradition for my family, and there wasn’t a single year that we missed it. Mike and I began the same tradition with our sons when they were old enough to go on the rides, but there were many aspects of the CNE that we were never really able to enjoy because when you go there with little kids all they are interested in are rides and games. They have no desire to walk through the many pavilions and exhibits.
Last weekend was the first time Mike and I had gone to the CNE without kids, and it was a very different experience. When not watching Cayley’s competition, we wondered the fair in ways that we never had before. Although I do miss the days of rides and games with my boys, we are entering a new stage in our lives, and it was nice to do what we wanted to do for once :). I was able to really look around me that day and capture the essence of the CNE with my camera, and over the next few days I will share some of my favourite photos with you. First is the Ferris Wheel, and I couldn’t decide which one to post, so you get to see all four.
photos from the loonybin 
Great compositions!!!! 🙂 **
Thanks! I was trying to do the up close and personal thing again instead of getting the whole Ferris Wheel in the frame like I used to. It’s so much fun experimenting :).
Well if I had to choose one for the post… ummmm … I would have posted all four… they are all great….
My new motto – don’t stress over which one is the best, just post them all!!!! LOL. Thanks Bulldog and hope you enjoyed your scratch!! 🙂
Oh I did… thank you…
Dizzying heights! And you know how much I love your perspective… these are not exceptions.
Thanks Dor – I hope I didn’t freak you out with those dizzying heights :).
Loooooooovely! Colourful and interesting. 🙂
It is a whole new way of life you’re entering… 🙂
Aww, thank you. It is definitely a new way of life we are entering. Some days I am excited about that while other days I am very, very sad that the kids don’t want to go places with us any more. I miss doing stuff with them :(.
Great shots and the colours are so crisp… very nice! I can remember as a kid growing up in Toronto, at the end of the school year opening up your report card and getting all those CNE coupons. I think the kids today in many way’s miss out on the experiences we had!
Hey, I remember getting those CNE coupons! Wasn’t there a colourful clown’s face on the front? My biggest memory is all of the free food that you could get in the food building. We rarely had to spend money on food, or if we did it was only a few dollars. There’s not much in the way of samples in the food building now :(.
The wheel looks so colourful and gay.
It certainly does – in fact the whole midway is like that. It’s a wonderful, happy assault on the senses!!
Great color and compositions. I love how you’ve filled the frame; it really gives a sense of scale.
I’m doing a lot more of that lately – filling the frame. I find it can make a photo so much more interesting and unique. I’m trying to experiment a great deal more and having a lot of fun in the process :). Thanks for your comment!
Okay, I have another reaction to these photos. They’re great. Don’t get me wrong, but they remind me that I was there and I didn’t ride because I thought it was too much to pay. What was i thinking? Life is short. Ride the rides. I need to put up one of your pictures on my desk to remind myself: Get on the Ferris wheel, unless of course, it’s raining and lightning. Wait out the storm and get on. Thanks for the nudge.
I know what you mean. Everything is so expensive there now, but I keep reminding myself that it’s still a lot cheaper than Canada’s Wonderland, and there is a lot more to do – a lot of which doesn’t cost anything (other than admission). At Wonderland you can’t even take in your own bottle of water and then they charge you like $5 to buy one. I was impressed at the CNE that they had water stations throughout the midway where you could actually refill your own water bottles. You are so right though – life is way too short, so have some fun!!! 🙂
Love these shots!
Thanks 🙂