I went to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE/ The Ex) a lot while growing up, like many other youth in Toronto. It was a yearly tradition for me and my cousins to visit every year when the CNE opened during summer vacation. I have countless memories playing games to win stuffed animals and other toys, as well as eating from a bunch of different food spots. Me and my cousins would always end our visit with a purchase of sweet cotton candy to-go.
The image above contrasts with the CNE that I picture in my mind when I reminisce on my past experiences there.
This image had been taken around the time the CNE had been invented. It shows a bunch of people crowding around a variety of horses — which I believe to be prize horses that are meant to be won.
This image is interesting to me because it represents how dramatically things change over time. I would not be able to understand the CNE in the way that this image portrays it, and a Canadian from the early 1900’s would not be able to conceptualize the present condition of the CNE.
