Attention, Toronto! The CNE is back with squid-ink corndogs, ketchup-flavoured soft serve
CBC
The deep-fried anticipation is palpable as the Canadian National Exhibition opens Friday after a two-year break due to the pandemic.
"Sometimes we forget about just how substantial this event has been for so long," CNE CEO Darrell Brown said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Canada's largest fair, which draws about 1.4 million attendees, runs until Sept. 5. Brown noted how advanced ticket sales are the highest they've ever been, and the Ex will mark its return with a mix of crowd-pleasers and new attractions.
First, the food. No carnival experience is complete without adventurous eats. This year's headliner: mustard-and ketchup-flavoured soft serve ice cream.
Brown noted in an interview with CBC News Network that the frozen condiments are best paired with fries. He recommends the salty ketchup, which also comes in sweet flavour.
Other noteworthy foods debuting are the Korean squid-ink corndog, covered in a black batter; macaroni and cheese pizza and a cross between a croissant and a waffle, known as a croffle.
Above the food building at around 10:45 p.m. each night, you can take in the Dazzling Drone Show, featuring about 100 drones in the night sky.
Three times a day, guests can take in NEVAEH & the NorthStar, an immersive storytelling experience in the Coca Coliseum, with a drone show, pyrotechnics and augmented reality.
And the Gaming Garage is back, this time for the entire 18 days. Guests can enjoy attractions such as Esports and robotics competitions, pinball and card games.
Founded in 1879, the CNE has two attractions that turn back the clock one of which takes place in Heritage Court of the Enercare Centre, where guests can take in a presentation of the fair's 144-year history. The other, Doorways to the Past, treats guests to an augmented reality experience at four points on the CNE grounds through an app on their smart phones.
"If you hold up your phone to the doorway, the door opens, and, all of a sudden, you're taken back to another point in time at the CNE," Brown explained.
Performers at the bandshell this year include Canadian musicians Marianas Trench (Aug. 21), Jake Clemons (Aug. 22), Monowhales (Aug. 23), David Wilcox (Aug. 30), Gordon Lightfoot (Sept. 3) and Tom Cochrane (Sept. 4).
Comedians Howie Mandel, Ali Hassan, Nour Hadidi, Nile Seguin and Courtney Gilmour will be at the bandshell Friday night.
Art is another component of the fair. Visitors can check out works by Charles Pachter, a National Geographic exhibit titled The Greatest Wildlife Photos and Benjamin Von Wong's environmental art installation Turn off the Plastic Tap in the Enercare Centre.
A musical instrument created in Guelph, Ont., has been thrust onto the international stage — or rather, screen.
More than 1,000 Maritime Electric customers are without power after high winds blew across the Island Friday night into Saturday.
The Supreme Court of Canada is deliberating a case that could shape the way sentences are handed down in cases where both the offender and victim are Indigenous, which some Nunavut lawyers say could have ramifications for the Inuit-majority territory.
A man barricaded in a former church in Welland, Ont., was taken into custody early Saturday, nearly 24 hours into a standoff that began over a fence dispute.
Peel police are investigating after a Friday night shooting in Mississauga left one person dead, police said.
Another busy construction season has come to an end in London, and the city is already looking ahead to next spring when a slew of new projects are expected to begin.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun to lay out publicly what he sees as boundaries when dealing with China, as his government wades into a new relationship with the economic giant.
Ferry crossings are cancelled and over a thousand households are left without power Saturday morning, due to high winds and severe weather conditions.
Tens of thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers are waking up without power on Saturday morning after high winds and rain hit the province on Friday night.
Statistics Canada is reporting a population decrease last quarter for New Brunswick — its largest quarterly decline since the 1970s, according to an economic development consultant.
Residents clapped, danced, sang and cried in the Anishinaabe community of Kitcisakik this week when the lights were finally turned on for the first time.
A man is suing three members of a Winnipeg family and a real estate broker he alleges used his intellectual disability to financially exploit him through property deals in Canada and India, leaving him out hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When Stephanie Gamble watched her mother model the first dress she made, smiling wide and walking an imaginary runway, she knew that was what she wanted to keep doing in her life.