We went to the CNE (that’s the Canadian National Exhibition, or the “Ex” for those not from around here) with the intention of seeing the Don McLean show at the Bandshell. Unfortunately, we didn’t like the show much and abandoned ship early, well before he got to his monster hits. Instead, we wandered through the midway. The Paul James Band was playing in one of the beer tents and we stopped to listen to a couple tunes. Some readers may know that these guys played at our wedding in 2001. This was back when Brian Kipping was still alive and playing bass for the band.

It seems that the midway hasn’t changed much over the years. Lots of lights and all those games where you can win stuffed animals. Even as a kid I could never win anything there. And then there’s the food, kiosks everywhere. Deep fried everything. Corn dogs. Candy floss. Sno Cones. BBQ Ribs. BBQ Corn. We didn’t go into the food building. When I was a kid, it was called the Pure Food Building. I remember back bacon sandwiches and 1 cent Pepsi. The whole midway, with the thrill rides all lit up looks great in a cheap and tired sort of way. It was fun to take a walk through.