Official CNE Blog

I wasn’t sure if my stomach could handle the rides this year.  As I get older, these motion-intense rides tend to mess me up.  But my inner-child was drooling over the old rides of my youth, as well as the new rides I had never ridden or even seen before.

I began my thrill-seeking with a ride I had never ridden before, the Bonzai.  Ride tip: empty your pockets before you get on this one!  Along with some great G-forces, the Bonzai is sure to help you lose your loose change, car keys and everything else!

There are several new rides at the CNE this year, and of course, I had to ride a few.  CHAOS looks mean, but was tamer than I expected.  Spin Out is a different story.  It looks tame . . . until you’re upside down.  With the double spin and increased speed, you feel like you’re inside a blender!  That ride rocks!

There are a couple CNE classic rides that I cannot pass up, either.  The Crazy Mouse is a lot of fun.  If there is one ride that puts my age and my inner-child at odds, it’s the Zipper.  My inner-child screams for joy, while my outer-adult just screams!

If an awesome panoramic view of the CNE grounds sounds appealing, the Mega Drop is the ride for you.  Albeit, you won’t get to linger very long at the top, and if you plan to take a picture (like I did) make sure you hold on tight to your camera!

Whether young-in-age or young-in-spirit, there will be at least one ride on the CNE midway that will make your heart skip a beat.

Written by: Tim Ducharme

By chance, I heard loud, familiar music coming from the Air Transat Stage on the other side of the Direct Energy Centre. It was K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag. I just caught the end of the Mzansi Youth Choir’s show. Now, I’m not a fan of choir music. Too many hours listening to out of tune but well-meaning amateurs droning on, I think. But, this group is altogether different. Their voices are powerful, their energy is amazing and their enthusiasm is infectious. I came back for the next performance. I still don’t like most choir music, but I do like theirs.  The choir started in 1993 to promote South African Music. “Mzansi” means “South” in isiZulu and it is township slang for South Africa.  The members are all talented youth from Soweto and other poor townships. The choir gives a chance to learn skills and to perform internationally.  Football fans around the world heard them at the opening show for the FIFA World Cup. At the CNE performance, the choristers couldn’t keep their feet on the ground, bouncing up and down and dancing to the music. In one number the men in the choir danced on the stage in their Wellington boots stomping out a song about the miners’ life.  With the driving rhythms of the drums, the audience couldn’t sit still either. The Choir Director led us in a wave and gave the audience choruses to sing. The concert ended with everyone on their feet – then a standing ovation – and calls for an encore. Don’t miss them. www.mychoir.co.za.

Written by: James Carlisle

The Ex never seems to disappoint with the musical acts they manage to get. Consistently they seem to get some really great talent for their free concerts year after year. Honestly, it’s one of the most underrated parts of the CNE.

Sure, the rides are awesome, the food is over the top and the air show always gets a lot of attention… but the concerts are awesome and I don’t think they get enough attention. On Thursday, I went down for the specific purpose of seeing LIGHTS. If you don’t know about her… well go look her up! Some of her music is really great. I’ve never seen her live and imagined that it wouldn’t be as good as the produced stuff that she puts out, but boy was I wrong! It was truly a fantastic performance! (The opening act I wasn’t much of a fan of mind you).  Thank god the weather cancellation was on Wednesday and not that night!

There are a couple more great concerts coming up too! One tomorrow that I’m told will be awesome but that I won’t be going to – way too many kids as it’s the Toronto District School Board day, features Shawn Desman, a band called Stereos and Down With Webster. I personally have never heard of them – but I’m told they are good.

Then on Friday, K-OS and Reema Major are playing The Ex! This is a concert I’m actually looking forward to and will definitely be there. K-OS produces a lot of great, catchy and fun music. Who can forget Crabbuckit?

There’s typically a concert every day, so definitely suggest you check it out! [visit www.theex.com for details]

PS. Who’s excited for the Air Show? Haha.

Written by: Zach Bussey

Becky Hoops shimmies and whirls doing magical tricks with her silver hoops. With her saucy smile she talks men volunteers out of their shirts, into funny hats and then does the double hula – grinding against them until they gyrate fast enough to keep the big hoop up. In the audience the men are smitten, the women are amused and the kids don’t get the jokes.

 I chatted with Becky after her show and found out she is very serious about clowning.  Becky started circus training in Montreal after her degree in International Development.  Becky is serious about the good that clowns can do, financed by her commercial work and cabaret act, she travelled to orphanages in Cameroon and Haiti teaching circus skills for more than half a year.  As a member of Clowns Without Borders, Becky brought joy to isolated communities in the Northwest Territories and much-needed laughter to earthquake survivors in Sichuan, China.

But, it’s all fun in Becky’s show at the CNE.  This is Becky’s Beach Show.  She plays a slightly loony beach bunny wearing her Miss Universe competition swimsuit.   It’s playtime on the imaginary beach with a friend who happens to be a pretty girl who can spin six hula hoops while standing on her head. Becky passes on her infectious grin to every person in the crowd.

Learn more about Becky and her extraordinary career at her website: http//www.beckyhoops.com. But first, go to the Busker Stage and catch her show.

Written by: James Carlisle

If the Food Building is your first stop at the CNE, you’re hardly alone. So while I’m tempted to extol the virtues of Mac n’ Cheesery (among others), I won’t. That’s too easy. Instead if you step just outside, you’ll find the Variety Stage where many cool acts await, with none cooler than the one and only, Fernandez, Comedy Hypnotist extraordinaire!

Now I wish I could give a detailed account of Fernandez’s act. But unfortunately, that won’t be entirely possible. You see, I was lucky enough to be a part of it which means that the whole thing left me a little…well, hypnotized! Fernandez calls upon about a dozen or so volunteers and asks them to have a seat on the stage, with the promise of a gold medal (!!) being awarded to the best test subject.

Now I won’t spoil the fun, but I am proud to say that I am a gold medal recipient. Maybe it’s because I was the biggest ham or because I truly was the most hypnotized. Not too sure. I do vaguely remember that talking into my shoes, having my clothes “removed” and being chosen to perform Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” (though I would have preferred “Bad Romance”). Most cool however, was being recognized hours later, way on the other side of the CNE. Winning that medal made me feel like a mini celebrity for a day. So check out this great show and try to match my medal win!

Written by: Michael Mandziuk

After enjoying the noise and clamour of the Midway, I spent a quiet hour in the Direct Energy Building, watching the CNE’s quietest Rockstar, Daryl Maddeaux. We chatted about what he calls “Visual Awareness Art.”

Daryl does the seemingly impossible – building beautiful sculptures – towers of rocks, that appear to defy gravity – then he knocks them all down. Daryl is a performance artist who has built and torn down his work thousands of times in exhibitions all over the world.

Daryl told me his work has a simple message. “With patience, concentration and focus you can do anything you can imagine,” he said. The artist says there is really no trickery. “The only trick is to make the rock stop,” he said. “Physicists tell us that when an object stops, it remains stopped until another force moves it.” “The triangle is the strongest structure in nature,” said Daryl. His method is to find three points of contact between the top rock and the one below it.  Looking at the grain of the rock and feeling for the precise centre of gravity Daryl finds the exact spot where a rock will stop moving. Then, he gently lets go. So Daryl doesn’t defy gravity, he finds the exact balance that lets gravity hold his sculptures in place.

Why does he knock his sculptures down? “It’s fun to knock them down,” says Daryl. “When I came here, the rocks were all down and I just put Mother Nature back the way I found her.” Daryl’s website is www.rockonrock.ca.

Written by: James Carlisle

Have you ever climbed inside a combat tank? Sat in the cockpit of a jet?  Or better yet, tried on protective Army gear, stepped inside a medic truck, or taken a look at the Navy’s arsenal of rescue and recovery equipment?

I’m going to guess that you probably haven’t experienced many of those things. But let me tell you, on the weekend, I did. Yes, a 30-something-city-girl (and mommy), did almost all of those things, and loved it.

You see, each time I visit the CNE, I enter through the Princes’ Gates and walk right by the Canadian Forces’ (CF) display. It never occurred to me that I should check out the exhibits – the CF are so far removed from my everyday life – I spend most of my time in ballet class, gallivanting around Toronto with my little boy, and writing. However, on the weekend I happened to hear the CF band playing ACDC’s You Shook Me All Night Long, and I stopped to listen. Once the band finished the song, I browsed through the area and was struck by the abundance of interesting things:  An enormous tank, tents filled with complex radar and medical equipment, and most importantly, CF women and men.

I chatted with bright and courageous young women focused on careers in the Army, and part-time reservists, enrolled in university with aspirations on becoming engineers and doctors in the Navy.  Each individual taught me about their role and rank in the CF, and even answered all of my ridiculous questions (i.e. What is boot camp all about? Do you ever get to wear civilian clothes? Do you ever feel scared?).

This significant experience brought a new found respect for the CF, and will be one of my favourite memories from the 2011 CNE.  If you want to learn more, check out the Canadian Forces’ display, right near the Princes’ Gates entrance.

P.S. There is no such thing as boot camp – it is actually called Basic Training, uniforms are only to be worn when on duty, and yes, even members of the Canadian Forces feel scared at times, but apparently, facing your fears is part all part of the job. A good lesson.

Written by: Catherine Romano

In my last blog I spoke about being a compulsive planner.  Today I learned that things change when you have kids.  It was after all our ‘family’ outing, so I let the kids lead the way, and did they ever!!!

We entered through the Dufferin gates and once they saw the ‘fun’ things for the kids to do, they left me and made a dash for it.  They loved the fact that they could run free and touch and play with the animals.  One of my girls even used her allowance money to purchase feed for the animals.  They then  stopped at the YTV booth for some fun trivia. By then it was time to try our hand at making pizza .  While I waited in line, they entertained themselves with crafts, making music and dancing to the shows at  the kiddie midway stage.  By then it was time to roll dough and throw the dough up in the air.  What fun!

It was after 2:30 p.m. when we saw ourselves breaking for lunch.  After lunch, we made our way to ‘The Farm’.  There was so much to see and do there, starting with the breathtaking sand sculpture that was being worked on.  Then there were animals….and more animals.  Only when we saw the few indoor rides  did we realize that we had not stopped at the midway yet…  Oops.  My daughter proudly said that this was fun and we can come back for the rides next weekend. I think she is onto something. It looks  like we have started a brand new ‘family tradition’.  Thank you CNE!!!

Written by: Sabrina Mantel

It’s no secret: the best thing about summers in Toronto is exploring the fun places at the EX! This year, it’s exactly what my friends and I did and it certainly did not disappoint. Last Saturday, we decided to hop on the 29 Dufferin bus and head to the Ex. Thanks to the new CNE mobile app, we were able to figure exactly what was happening throughout the festival.

Swooning over Chef Dale Mackay from 2-3PM? Check!

Shopping at Stitches and Bluenotes from 3-4PM? Check!

Roasted corn on a cob at 4:30PM? Double check!

When we weren’t swooning over celebrity chefs or eating delicious corn on a cob, we explored the various exhibits, art shows and concerts.  Our favourite was the Tina Turner impersonation concert! Although it wasn’t the actual Tina Turner (can you imagine if it was!?), we still enjoyed some great tunes while staying cool in the shade and sipping our iced lemonade drinks.

Before we headed home, we walked around to simply enjoy the familiarity of it all. The CNE is such a great and fun place to be every year. It’s no wonder why it hold the reputation for being Canada’s largest community event. Can’t wait to see what else it has in store for us Torontonians. Stay tuned!

Written by: Sumaya Khan