On a late summer afternoon in 1957, a young family walked from Palmerston Avenue in Little Italy, west on Queen Street, down Strachan, and through the grand Princes’ Gates of Exhibition Place. It was an important moment for this young family – they were recent immigrants to Canada and as much as they wanted to explore their new city, money was tight, so leisure time was spent in neighbourhood parks.
But on this occasion, the father of the family decided to take his family to the Canadian National Exhibition. The twenty-five cent admission fee was steep, but he hoped that the special day would become a meaningful memory for his three children.
One of those young children was my father, and 54 years later, he remembers those first steps through the Princes’ Gates. He also recalls his mother’s homemade picnic lunch, his sisters’ anticipation and the incredible crowd of people. The family excitedly explored the grounds, seeing things that they had never seen before. They came from a small mountain village in Italy, and now they were in the big city and the CNE was a showcase for all things modern; spectacular midway rides, raucous musical parades, fancy home appliances in the Better Living Centre, and all those shiny cars in the Automotive Building.
Fast forward to present day, well actually last Saturday, and my father carried on the family tradition. This time, taking his own family to the CNE, with his little grandson in tow. We all walked from Fleet Street, down Strachan, and entered through the Princes’ Gates entrance. Too excited to stop for a photo, my father and son zipped through the ticket lines, skipped the buildings, and headed straight for the Kiddie Midway. This was the place where little grandson was happiest (especially on the Train Station ride), and hopefully the place where a few childhood memories would be made.
So tell me, what is your family’s CNE story?
P.S. You might ask why I’m telling this story, when I could be writing about all of the spectacular stuff happening this 133rd year of the CNE (i.e. fantastic music concerts, fried everything, kitty cat shows, wild flying midway rides, and so on). But, when I started to think about potential topics for my first blog post, I began to wonder about my family’s very first entry in to the fair. Only since being a CNE blogger, have I taken the time to ask my father why he loves the CNE so much. And well, now I know.
Written by: Catherine Romano
