evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch) (08/29/89)
After going twice this year, once with kids and once without, we'll probably be giving the CNE a miss for at least a few years. There have been a lot of changes, some for the better, many for the worse. Is it blind nostalgia, or is the Ex really deteriorating before our eyes? Here's how certain parts of the Ex appears to have changed: EXHIBITS: I like this year's exhibit from Thailand much better than last year's Aussie stuff. But the Thai stuff still has to share the builing with the 'international bazaar'. Hucksterism. Trinkets. Your Name on a License Plate Frame. The Stoufville Flea Market comes downtown. Just like the "shopper's market" next to the Coliseum. Ick. (I'm surprised nobody tried to organize a boycott of the massive sales at the Ex of goods from China.) ENTERTAINMENT: Too many teenage girls in skimpy leotards 'dancing', actually just aerobics in skimpy outfits as a spectator sport. Some of the things that made the Ex sort of special, like the Tattoo, soap opera stars and big bands at the Bandshell, the Lumberjack contests, softball tourneys, and so on, have started as traditions then suddenly dropped. The Ex became too dependent on big-name Grandstand rock concerts, the Blue Jays and beer company tents, a strategy which has now backfired since the Skydome now offers competition for venues. FOOD: The biggest dissapointment. Since the 'refurbishing' a few years ago, the Food Building is no longer a place where food companies test-drive their new concoctions for free, where you could get a simple bowl of spaghetti for a quarter, or where the exhibitors try to outdo each other with creative displays. It's now just a photocopy of the outside world, a place where A&P and Loblaws have the biggest booths in order to run mini-supermarkets, and the prepared food is dominated by conventional restaurants and fast food chains. It's like walking into the eating area of a shopping mall, only much bigger, and more expensive. I notice that prices are generally higher than outside the Ex - I expect that on the Midway, but not in the Food Building. There is actually a place selling little donuts on the Midway that's considerably cheaper than Tony Tom's two booths in the Food Building. I guess this is nostalgia for a time when the Food Building was a haven from the greed and excesses of the rest of the Ex, where genuine bargains abounded and one could actually explore the exotic for little money. CARS: The annual one-day classic car display now becomes the attraction in what was once the Carlsberg (and before that, the Ontario Government) building at the west end. You have to go through the Model Ts and Edsels and shoddy Jeep/Eagle displays on your way to the Batmobile in the far corner of the building. I found this layout unnerving, as the throngs who pressed past the antique cars, through those narrow aisles, made it difficult for anyone who wanted to spend time talking to the owners or otherwise take their time through. KIDS: Can the laws of supply and demand really support a Midway on which most of the rides are $1.60 or $2.00 for a trip lasting less than a minute? Even many of the toddlers' rides are $1.20. As for the midway 'games of skill' many booths are now to the point where even if you win, the prize is worth less than the cost to try... The Moscow Circus or Thrill Riders might be good choices, but after it cost $24 before we even got in the door (2 adults, 2 kids), haven't we been bled enough? Smallest kids have their best fun at the Kentucky Fried Chicken area - look for the huge bucket :-(. Otherwise take them to Kid's Village at Ontario Place. The only entertainment there for teenagers is the Midway and large video game displays, and the skateboard demonstrations. SPONSORSHIP: A number of former heavy Ex boosters are noticed by their absence. Beckers used to give out Ex coupon books, and their logos graced the Alpine Way cars, the ExPress, and many booths around the site. No longer. Of the three major breweries, only Molson has a presence at all. No Carlsberg Building. No booze-up under the Grandstand. If you look hard, you can find a small beer garden run by Upper Canada Brewery. MISCELLANEOUS GRIPE: There are far, FAR too many Encyclopaedia Brittanica booths. SAVING GRACES: The Crafts Building. The Air Show. The '50 years of CNE television' display. Agricultural exhibits. The display of the Toronto 1996 Olympic bid. People at the Express stops making sure folks don't but-in the lineup. But it's not enough. In the balance, the Ex is getting worse. Some major intitatives are needed, in my mind. to prevent further decline. Any ideas? -- Evan Leibovitch, SA, Telly Online, located in beautiful Brampton, Ontario evan@telly.on.ca / uunet!attcan!telly!evan / Director & editor, /usr/group/cdn If you'll be my Dixie chicken, I'll be your Tennesee lamb - Little Feat