"Let's Go To the Ex", A Day at the 2017 CNE

Today Teena and I headed over to the Ex, formally known as the Canadian National Exhibition.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) was founded in 1879 for the purpose of fostering the development of agriculture, industry and the arts. Originally called the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, the name was officially changed to the Canadian National Exhibition in 1912 to better represent what the fair had become: "A Show Window of the Nation".

The CNE continued to grow and to reflect the changes in Canadian society as the emphasis slowly shifted from Agriculture to Industry. By 1912, the fairgrounds covered close to 350 acres and included one of the finest amusement parks and permanent exhibition facilities in the world.

Here are some pictures of our day.

Of everything we saw, this was the coolest. We had a chance to talk to talk to Johnson, one of the officers, who has done many jumps as a paratrooper. Every jump requires their total weight of themselves and gear to be 350 pounds (158kg). The main chute is 50 pounds, the back-up is 30 pounds plus they have an 85 pound backpack. The heavier jumpers give their large backpacks to the smaller men to even the weight.

Johnson told a few funny stories plus one about the time his chute didn't open. They are truly Canada's heroes.

Sand sculptures.

Butter sculptures.

We watched Vikram Vij cook up a curried vegetable.

This hot tub is the size of a small pool. I want, I want!

We watched Sons of Rhythm for a bit then had a bite to eat just outside the stage area so we could listen. Teena had a waffle ice cream and I had a corn dog and a root beer. Both are very nutritious!

The Ex is colourful.

Teena spotted this which we had a laugh over. Who would ever have though of putting a church tent beside a psychic?

This looks good!

It was a great day for a walk around the Ex and we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of unusual things. We'll be back again next year.

Toronto Wolfpack Down Newcastle Thunder in Super 8's Playoffs

This afternoon the Toronto Wolfpack played their first game of the Kingstone Press League 1 Super 8s at home today against the Newcastle Thunder.

There are 16 teams in the league and after they all play each other once, the top 8 play in what is called the Super 8s. The top team after that round is declared the champions and move up to the next level, the Championship league.

In the Super 8s, the Wolfpack played three games in a row in England then finish with four here in Toronto. They left England having won just one game, losing one and tied one. A win today was badly needed.

The Wolfpack She-Wolves came out to rev up the crowd before the game.

The National anthems are sung. At this time, most of the crowd was on our side of the stadium or in the craft beer garden.

Kickoff.

A breakaway. He was brought down before he scored.

Here are me and Teena. We love going to the games!

The Wolfpack make the tackle before they can score.

There was a record 7,522 fans in attendance today. It's a loud, howling fun crowd.

Wolfpack captain Craig Hall makes the 2 point kick after Toronto scored a try (4 points).

The She-wolves at halftime. Toronto went into the dressing room with a 22-0 lead.

Wolfpack are stopped near the goal line.

Loose ball!

The game ends and the teams shake each other hands.

The She-wolves celebrate the win.

The final score.

The boys are hungry after a game. By the time they eat though, the pizza will be cold by the time they get to the dressing room to eat it as they all walk around the stadium shaking hands, signing autographs and getting selfies taken with the fans.

Daniel Flaming.

One of my favorites, Jack Bussey.

Everybody's favorite, Fuifui Moimoi

The craft beer garden also stays open for an hour or two after the game, so the party continues.

It's always a fun time and Teena and I are looking forward to the next game on September 2 against Whitehaven.