28/08/2017 - Canadian National Exhibition
- Kaylin M
- Sep 12, 2017
- 5 min read
Every year, for the last two weeks of summer, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) occurs in Toronto. The Exhibition features a wide variety of experiences including an Air Show, and Aerial Acrobatics and Ice Skating Show, a petting zoo, a casino, celebrity chefs, ethnic dancing, musical performances and more. My mom and I have developed the tradition of attending the CNE together each year. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go together last year, so this year we were arranged our schedules ahead of time so that we wouldn’t miss it. On Monday August 28th, we headed to the Exhibition. The easiest way to get there is to take the Go train down to Exhibition Place; some people tackle the drive down there and those people are … completely crazy. I wanted to get there before lunch so that we would get the chance to have a full day without getting home too late. It was a bonus that it was a Monday because it was less busy than normal; even though it’s always busy as it’s such an iconic attraction each year.
A lot of people go to the Ex for three major reasons: (1) the amusement rides and carnival games, (2) the food building and (3) the SuperDogs. I, on the other hand, go to the Ex for shopping. I’m not one to buy myself new clothes or really new anything on a regular basis, but the deals are usually so great at the CNE that I make an exception. I only ended up buying two outfits, but definitely a new “weekend uniform”.
In order to get to the shopping building you have to walk through the carnival games area. It's very colourful to say the least and usually crowded with young people attempting to hit balloons with darts to win the giant plush Minion. I don't mind the walk though because you get a beautiful view of the CN Tower.
Once we were in the building, the first thing that we saw was a large totem pole. The totem pole was created with 9 individual aspects that all symbolized something different. Below I'll describe each of the different parts and their importance:
1. The Turtle: at the base of the pole it represents Mother Earth and the root/foundation of the poles story
2. The Bear: the Canadian black bear represents family. On the pole the bear is depicting beating a drum that symbolizes the drumming of a mother's heartbeat which is the first sound a child hears in the womb.
3. The Otter, Loon, and Fish: these three demonstrate the importance of harmony and teamwork as we strive for nourishment and sustainability.
4. The Wolf: the wolf sits above the team and is depicted as howling his prayer of hope for the world.
5. Maple Leaves and a Beaver: the wolf's prayer rises upwards through two major Canadian symbols. These symbols pay tribute to the CNE and it's vintage emblem which originated in the 1920s.
6. Eagle Feather: according to indigenous culture, receiving an eagle feather is the highest honor. The feather on the pole is painted white to represent healing, reflection, and balance throughout the story of the totem.
7. Spiral: the spiral is painted to symbolize the need for community.
8. Eagle: a messenger that can fly between the worlds
9. Red & Blue Painted Power Lines: (I'm just going to recite what was written on the description that I read because my paraphrasing won't do it justice.) "The red power line symbolizes hostile energy that flows through the story of the pole before travelling up through the eagle. While the blue power line, represents balance and calm; and flows from the eagle in hope that cooler heads will prevail in times of conflict in Canada."
Truly a beautiful story. It's hard to imagine that all of that is depicted in this piece of art.
Just behind the totem pole were was a row of assorted art exhibitions. The first one contained statues of animals that had been created through natural resources such as moss, leaves, rocks, etc. They were breath-taking and incredibly well done. After that were the infamous CNE sand sculptures. Every year they gather amazing artists to create these magnificent sand sculptures and every year they never cease to amaze me. I especially liked the sand sculpture that depicted all things Canadian, including a very accurate portrait of Justin Trudeau (I'll post the picture below). Then, we looked through a small window into what appeared to be a very cold room to view butter sculptures. Yes, large sculptures, including one of a live-size pig, made purely out of butter. It was impressive and also slightly nauseating. The final exhibit was in honor of Canada's 150th Birthday. It was an aisle made up of many famous historical Canadian landmarks all made of ... origami. Yes, you read that right, origami. It was amazing and at the end of the aisle the artists names were displayed. The whole scene had been created by only two artists! Absolutely stunning and impressive because I'm still working on folding my pesky fitted bed sheets correctly let alone making a swan out of a piece of paper.
Now onward to do some shopping!
The shopping building is quite large, so after a while of walking and shopping my mom and I decided to keep our stomachs happy by splitting a piece of pizza (just until we had a real dinner). There is a second shopping building on the opposite side of the CNE, so we headed there next. It has a lot of the same stuff, but we like to make sure we’re not missing any great deals! As well, we knew that we'd be able to buy a “Dill on a Stick” there which is a CNE must-have! A “Dill on a Stick” is a giant pickle on a stick and my mom and I always share one. Things can get pretty messy! Here’s a picture just so you can gauge how big this pickle is:
I wanted to write a phallic joke for this picture, but since it's my mom's hand holding the pickle I'm going to refrain. Anyways, another CNE must-have is the infamous Lemonade. So good! I think my mom goes to the CNE just for this lemonade. It’s perfectly made with the precise amount of sugar that gives it the lemonade sweetness without punching you in the face. We ended the trip in the food building, so that we could have an early dinner before heading home. I'm sorry to report that my mom and I didn't get too crazy with our food options as we split some basic Chinese food. I'm a sucker for Chinese food and I didn't really feel like eating anything too crazy, so we didn't explore all that the food building apparently had to offer.
And that was it. We headed home after that. If anyone hasn't had the chance to go to the CNE (for example: Blake has never been), I definitely encourage it as a day trip. My mom and I got to laugh and share stories and just enjoy spending time together. I also encourage you all to see the SuperDogs show and the Aerial Ice Skating show as both are great performances. We didn't go this year because we had been multiple times previous years ... that and we have our own gymnastic dog at home. It was a satisfying trip to the Exhibition that I got to enjoy with my mom and I look forward to going with her next year.
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