A Fun Filled Day at the CNE

Last week, I went with some of my family to the opening day of the CNE – Canada’s National Exhibition. I hadn’t been in six years, since Garrett and I went when I lived in Toronto.

It was the first time Lucy and my youngest cousin had ever been and we made sure to do as many of our favourite CNE traditions with them.

We got there around lunchtime, so we headed to the Food Building for the 99 cent spaghetti, poutine and our favourite Tiny Tom donuts. They make them right in front of you and you can get shake them up in a little paper bag with icing sugar or cinnamon sugar. Lucy definitely approved!

I love seeing all the old buildings around the CNE grounds.

After lunch, we took Lucy on her very first midway ride – an old fashioned Merry-Go-Round. She loved it so much, and was trying to make the horse go up and down faster, ha! There were even a few tears when we left the horses behind.

Right by the kids midway there was this KidStreet that had great stuff for parents and kids alike. The Baby Care Centre was a nice quiet place to change a diaper or nurse, and there was even a shop where kids could make their own pizza lunch. The biggest hit with Lucy was the Kids Korner – an interactive room with a vet clinic, gas station, airport control tower and the cutest kids grocery store I’ve ever seen.

I think Lucy could have spent the whole day in there if we’d let her. She was having so much fun loading her cart with pretend groceries and seeing her push her little cart around was just too sweet.

At the end of the grocery store, there were checkout aisles that really beeped as the food went down the conveyor belt. And the room was air conditioned which was a big bonus for us parents too!

After a jaunt around the kiddie area (and winning her very first midway toy bear on the “Birthday Game”), Lucy was ready to head over to the animals.

I always loved visiting the animals at the CNE when I was little too. I was sad to learn that they no longer do the horse shows there, but I was happy to see they still have some animals around.

There was also a very cool “Be a Farmer for a Day” maze that kids could go through and collect different things you can find on a farm at each station.

They collected a toy milk carton, plastic eggs, apples, seeds, wool, etc. in a little pail.

It was a great interactive way for kids to learn about how farms are important for everyone.

At the end of the maze, they could hop on these cute little tractors and “take their goodies” to market. It was so cute! Lucy was still too little to truly enjoy it but we had fun taking her around and exploring the different booths.

After all that fun, Lucy was ready for a rest in the stroller with my mom, while my cousin and I went on the midway rides. I couldn’t wait to take her on my favourite one – The Polar Express!

We even convinced my dad to hop on the Ferris Wheel with us to get a great view of the city.

We could see all the way to the CN Tower and along the shores of Lake Ontario.

It was fun to see the midway from way up high.

After getting jostled around on all the rides, it was time for another CNE tradition – Ice Cream Waffle Sandwiches.

Lucy approved!

After all that excitement, Lucy fell asleep in the stroller and we walked around some of the pavilions. We were even able to catch some of famous Canadian chef Jamie Kennedy‘s cooking demonstration.

Just as we were about to leave, we caught the Mardi Gras parade, with fair ambassadors from all over. We even caught a few beads!

We had quite the day exploring around the CNE and I remembered why I loved it so much as a kid. If you haven’t been in awhile, it’s definitely worth checking out. The CNE runs from now until September 4th.