Things from Canada I miss: “The Ex”

One of my favourite memories of growing up in Canada is ”The Ex”.  Not as in ex-gf or ex-bf or even ex-husband, but as in The Canadian National Exhibition, aka The CNE, aka The Ex.  It’s like a State Fair, I guess, and it was always the best part of summer vacation.  I’d be tired and sore at the end of a long day of wandering, but my head would be filled with great memories and I’d usually have an armful of souveniers to bring home.  I was never interested in the midway or the games like normal kids, I liked the exhibits, especially the International Building.  They’d have rows and rows of vendors from exotic foreign countries (really exotic, as the Cold War was still on, so it was rare to have contact with Russians and Russian products), and I loved looking at all the unique items, always coveting a set of stacking wooden dolls, or wishing I had enough money to buy a genuine Akubra hat from Australia.

The CNE was started as an agricultural fair, and has stayed true to its roots.  There are always many farm animals on exhibit, and it’s a great place to buy and sample local produce and home-grown foods like different cheeses.  The smell of The Ex is a combination of sour junk food from the midway, and of horses in the live animal exhibit building.  I know it sounds like a gross combination, but it’s kind of soothing to think about.

Maybe the best part of The Ex was the Food Building.  It was row upon row of vendors of food, and while there was a lot of conventional food, there were also things like perogies, pastrami on rye, exotic sausages, and mini-doughnuts.  The perogies were deep-fried and salted with some seasoning and then smothering with buttered sauteed onions and gobs of sour cream… mmm!  There were always a few food items that I absolutely had to eat every year, so the food was as much a part of the tradition as anything else.

I haven’t been to the CNE since 1991, and every year around this time I get very nostalgic and just ache for a trip home.  This year’s version of the event opens on August 17th and runs until Labour Day.  I thought to write this entry today after the Toronto Star wrote about the Food Building, and they mentioned Tiny Tom’s doughnuts.  They were the first mini-doughnuts I’ve ever eaten, and they’d be hot out of the frying oil and then shaken in a bag with some sugar and cinnamon.  It was the perfect way to end a day (especially if you bought a few extra bags to eat in the car on the way home). 

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/14 at 11:10 PM

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  1. It’s my first year not being able to go, either - although I’m only about two hours and change away now.

    There’s so much I miss about Toronto - seeing the lights from the Gardiner is definitely one. That, and Kensington.

    Carol

    Posted by Carol  on  08/16  at  03:06 PM
    2. Page 1 of 1 pages

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