This year's SuperEX event has been cancelled, marking the first time there will be no exhibition at Ottawa's Lansdowne Park since the world wars.
The Central Canada Exhibition Association's board of directors made the decision to suspend the fair — which was first held in 1888 — last week, citing Lansdowne's redevelopment as the main reason.
It will be the first time in 122 years the Central Canada Exhibition has been shut down, barring the war years; for Moran, it will mark the first time in 78 years she will miss the Ex, which was suspended this year as organizers look for a new venue in the wake of the redevelopment of Lansdowne.
In its heyday, the Ex was one of the top fairs in North America, drawing as many as 800,000 people a year — double the number of recent years. Its grandstand shows featured famous acts such as the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and country star Willie Nelson, as well as the renowned “travelling railroad” carnival, the World of Mirth.
“My mother would make us lunches, and my father built us a wagon” to get there and back, she remembers. In the 1930s and ’40s, the kids would earn a few pennies scavenging empty Coke bottles for the deposits. You could buy food at any of the church-run booths, which offered wholesome fare such as “apple pie and a cup of tea — not the greasy stuff you get nowadays.”
Moran remembers paying a quarter to see the freak show, and recalls the time then-mayor Charlotte Whitton shut down the burlesque shows at the Ex. “We didn’t go in, of course, but we’d see the girls going in” to perform.
Moran can also recall the surreal sight of carnies unloading circus animals from the railroad that used to run where the Queensway now stands, and taking them down O’Connor Street to the fairgrounds.
No surprise that her coming-of-age stories all revolve around the Ex: “We had a lot of fun picking up guys,” she recalls, hastening to add that it was just innocent flirting. “They never tried to get smart with us. … There was no dope or drink involved. We had good, clean fun at the Ex.”
And she savours the tale of her father, who used to enter vegetables he grew in contests at the Ex in the 1950s and 60s. One year he wasn’t ready, “so he went down to the (Byward) Market and bought some,” and entered those as his own. “He won first prize for every item,” laughing as she recalled the memory.
As the years went by, Moran went on to have her own children, but her love of the Ex never faded, and she went faithfully every year; she even once penned a poem about the Ex.
Even in her 80s, the magic has never faded: “I went three or four times last year,” she says, although she admits the fair is not what it used to be: “It wasn’t that good over the last 10 years.”
The Ex used to offer much more than just rides and entertainment: Before television ads and home shows were the norm, that was “where people used to go to see latest and greatest TVs, appliances and cars,” he adds.
Now they shop elsewhere, and gambling — another major money-maker at the Ex — goes on at casinos and even corner stores. Over time, people have forgotten where it all began, he says.
Memories of the Ex: 122 Years at Lansdowne airs at 8 p.m. at the Coliseum Building at Lansdowne Park on Thursday.
Read More
| Ottawa's SuperEX has been suspended for 2011 due to Lansdowne Park's planned redevelopment. |
It will be the first time in 122 years the Central Canada Exhibition has been shut down, barring the war years; for Moran, it will mark the first time in 78 years she will miss the Ex, which was suspended this year as organizers look for a new venue in the wake of the redevelopment of Lansdowne.
In its heyday, the Ex was one of the top fairs in North America, drawing as many as 800,000 people a year — double the number of recent years. Its grandstand shows featured famous acts such as the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and country star Willie Nelson, as well as the renowned “travelling railroad” carnival, the World of Mirth.
“My mother would make us lunches, and my father built us a wagon” to get there and back, she remembers. In the 1930s and ’40s, the kids would earn a few pennies scavenging empty Coke bottles for the deposits. You could buy food at any of the church-run booths, which offered wholesome fare such as “apple pie and a cup of tea — not the greasy stuff you get nowadays.”
Moran remembers paying a quarter to see the freak show, and recalls the time then-mayor Charlotte Whitton shut down the burlesque shows at the Ex. “We didn’t go in, of course, but we’d see the girls going in” to perform.
Moran can also recall the surreal sight of carnies unloading circus animals from the railroad that used to run where the Queensway now stands, and taking them down O’Connor Street to the fairgrounds.
No surprise that her coming-of-age stories all revolve around the Ex: “We had a lot of fun picking up guys,” she recalls, hastening to add that it was just innocent flirting. “They never tried to get smart with us. … There was no dope or drink involved. We had good, clean fun at the Ex.”
And she savours the tale of her father, who used to enter vegetables he grew in contests at the Ex in the 1950s and 60s. One year he wasn’t ready, “so he went down to the (Byward) Market and bought some,” and entered those as his own. “He won first prize for every item,” laughing as she recalled the memory.
As the years went by, Moran went on to have her own children, but her love of the Ex never faded, and she went faithfully every year; she even once penned a poem about the Ex.
Even in her 80s, the magic has never faded: “I went three or four times last year,” she says, although she admits the fair is not what it used to be: “It wasn’t that good over the last 10 years.”
The Ex used to offer much more than just rides and entertainment: Before television ads and home shows were the norm, that was “where people used to go to see latest and greatest TVs, appliances and cars,” he adds.
Now they shop elsewhere, and gambling — another major money-maker at the Ex — goes on at casinos and even corner stores. Over time, people have forgotten where it all began, he says.
Memories of the Ex: 122 Years at Lansdowne airs at 8 p.m. at the Coliseum Building at Lansdowne Park on Thursday.
Read More
0 comments:
Post a Comment