Pacific Magic - Pizza Pizza International Stage
Another glorious day for the CNE. I don’t remember a year where the weather was as nice for the entire run as it was this year. I guess Toronto got the rain out of its system earlier this summer.
I arrived shortly after the Air Show started. I managed to snap a photo of the Blue Angels passing the CN Tower. I tried a smoothie sample from the Europe’s Best van. Not far from there, I receive a snack sample from Dunkaroos, then a Fruit to Go bag of apple chips. Practically a whole lunch, just walking into the grounds.
I wandered through to the Direct Energy Centre and grabbed a seat to see the Ethnic Press: Hawaii – Pacific Magic performance. What a great turn out they had. I got there a half hour before the show started and most of the seats were already full. The performance was wonderful. I loved the colourful costumes. There were several different sets of costumes, each more beautiful than the last. The crowd particularly liked the littlest hula dancers, four very young girls who performed a dance on their own. They were adorable.
After the Pacific Magic show I grabbed a front row seat for the Harmonicats. I have seen bits and pieces of their show for the past couple of weeks, so I was curious to see the whole show. Am I ever glad I did. The Harmonicats show is filled with charm and a gentle humour that reminds me of the performers on the Ed Sullivan Show. Corny jokes, boogie woogie, and harmonicas of all shapes and sizes are the mainstay of this act. Don’t get me wrong, their musicianship was astonishing. There is a high level of physicality to playing the larger harmonicas. It was quite something to see. The whole show was a breath of fresh air.
Sitting next to me was a charming couple from Manchester, England. Gillian and Grant Brackley arrived in Toronto the day before. The bellman in their hotel mentioned that they would be able to see the Air Show from the window. They decided to check out the Ex in person. Gillian said they were really enjoying their day. Prior to arriving in Canada the Brackleys had searched online for things to do during their stay in Toronto. They had seen nothing about the CNE on the Ontario tourism sites. That surprised me.
I headed out to catch the parade, where I actually caught some beads for the first time. It was a surprisingly satisfying feeling. A quick visit to the L’Oreal booth scored me a full-size set of hair care products, nice.
Wandering up Princes’ Boulevard was a challenge with huge crowds tonight. It was thrilling to see how many people were at the Ex last night.
Time to head home and rest up for the final day.