Northern Light
Superstar
I saw Automation Gallery's post on the new hotel; and an article in this morning's Star, and got thinking....
The Ex is not what it was, nor should would it really be successful again if it just became what it was.
But surely we could make The Ex a premier fair again. How do we make it draw 3,000,000?
http://www.thestar.com/theex/article/691893
Adrian Morrow
Staff Reporter
Mike Filey can remember many of the Canadian National Exhibition's high points, but one in particular sticks out. It was in 1977, when the Ex unveiled its iconic flagpole.
Then serving as special projects manager, he recalls how the CNE purchased a redwood from British Columbia so huge it took three railway cars to transport it.
"Everybody stopped to watch," says Filey of the day the tree itself arrived in Toronto, its progress down the Don Valley Parkway announced over the radio. Hewn in the Horticulture Building, the pole was the tallest in the world at the time, standing 60 metres and hung with a 6-by-12 metre Canadian flag.
The fair itself would also reach its greatest size during that era: more than 3 million people came through the gates some years.
They were greeted with the newest technological innovations, including the CLRV, which would soon enter service as Toronto's new streetcar and the Atari, one of the world's first personal computers, Filey remembers.
Some of the biggest stars of the day provided the entertainment at the grandstand – the Beach Boys, Queen, Rush, Johnny Cash, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Diana Ross.
Last year, just under 1.4 million people attended. The CNE's place as the exhibitor of new technology is long gone, as is the grandstand.
Even the flagpole, which had begun to rot, has been taken down.
"It's not what it was," Filey says of the fair. "It's an anachronism – it's going on nostalgia these days."
The CNE isn't dying. On the contrary, its attendance numbers have held relatively steady in the last few years and the Ex has returned about $6 million in profits to the city between 1999 and 2008.
Most, however, agree that it has fallen in stature over time, and general manager David Bednar suggests several reasons for the drop in attendance.
Moving the Blue Jays out of Exhibition Stadium to the SkyDome in 1989 lessened the park's draw, he says.
What's more, the advent of the Internet means people can view the latest technology without having to leave their homes.
"People don't have as much interest in an exhibit where you walk around and look at captions," says Bednar.
Money is also part of the problem: the proliferation of arenas and other concert venues has made it more expensive to book major musical acts. The Ex also risks having a show get rained out.
The CNE isn't the only fair facing the same problems.
"Pre-MTV, pre much of anything on TV ... your only chance to see (big concerts) was at the fair. Some people (still) want to see that kind of entertainment, but many fairs can't afford to do it," says Marla Calico of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, who previously spent more than two decades working for a fair in Missouri.
Many, however, are still thriving and breaking attendance records.
The Calgary Stampede, for instance, drew just under 1.2 million this year (its record attendance, 1.26 million, was set in 2006).
Observers attribute its success to the connection it has with the city and its heritage: many companies give their employees time off to watch the fair's opening-day parade, revellers in cowboy dress pack local bars playing country music and businesses are often decorated with hitching-posts and hay bales for the duration of the fair.
"The Calgary Stampede is truly a city-wide celebration. It's not just down at Stampede Park," says spokesman Doug Fraser.
The Stampede also offers unique attractions in the form of a large rodeo and chuck-wagon races, plus concerts by major country stars.
Finding something unique key to holding and attracting an audience for the Ex, says Gabor Forgacs, a Ryerson business professor.
"You have to give (people) a reason to go, something that they haven't seen yet," he says.
Bednar agrees, citing a speech at the Ex this year by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and a soccer game between European giants Celtic FC and SL Benfica as examples.
"One of the challenges we have is that we're competing with peoples' memories of the CNE," he says.
Still, nostalgia is a powerful draw – Bednar cites it as the main reason people come back, and Filey admits that while the CNE's attraction for adults may have diminished, it still holds excitement for their children.
"And they will probably bring their own kids, if (the CNE) is still around," says Filey.
The Ex is not what it was, nor should would it really be successful again if it just became what it was.
But surely we could make The Ex a premier fair again. How do we make it draw 3,000,000?
http://www.thestar.com/theex/article/691893
Adrian Morrow
Staff Reporter
Mike Filey can remember many of the Canadian National Exhibition's high points, but one in particular sticks out. It was in 1977, when the Ex unveiled its iconic flagpole.
Then serving as special projects manager, he recalls how the CNE purchased a redwood from British Columbia so huge it took three railway cars to transport it.
"Everybody stopped to watch," says Filey of the day the tree itself arrived in Toronto, its progress down the Don Valley Parkway announced over the radio. Hewn in the Horticulture Building, the pole was the tallest in the world at the time, standing 60 metres and hung with a 6-by-12 metre Canadian flag.
The fair itself would also reach its greatest size during that era: more than 3 million people came through the gates some years.
They were greeted with the newest technological innovations, including the CLRV, which would soon enter service as Toronto's new streetcar and the Atari, one of the world's first personal computers, Filey remembers.
Some of the biggest stars of the day provided the entertainment at the grandstand – the Beach Boys, Queen, Rush, Johnny Cash, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Diana Ross.
Last year, just under 1.4 million people attended. The CNE's place as the exhibitor of new technology is long gone, as is the grandstand.
Even the flagpole, which had begun to rot, has been taken down.
"It's not what it was," Filey says of the fair. "It's an anachronism – it's going on nostalgia these days."
The CNE isn't dying. On the contrary, its attendance numbers have held relatively steady in the last few years and the Ex has returned about $6 million in profits to the city between 1999 and 2008.
Most, however, agree that it has fallen in stature over time, and general manager David Bednar suggests several reasons for the drop in attendance.
Moving the Blue Jays out of Exhibition Stadium to the SkyDome in 1989 lessened the park's draw, he says.
What's more, the advent of the Internet means people can view the latest technology without having to leave their homes.
"People don't have as much interest in an exhibit where you walk around and look at captions," says Bednar.
Money is also part of the problem: the proliferation of arenas and other concert venues has made it more expensive to book major musical acts. The Ex also risks having a show get rained out.
The CNE isn't the only fair facing the same problems.
"Pre-MTV, pre much of anything on TV ... your only chance to see (big concerts) was at the fair. Some people (still) want to see that kind of entertainment, but many fairs can't afford to do it," says Marla Calico of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, who previously spent more than two decades working for a fair in Missouri.
Many, however, are still thriving and breaking attendance records.
The Calgary Stampede, for instance, drew just under 1.2 million this year (its record attendance, 1.26 million, was set in 2006).
Observers attribute its success to the connection it has with the city and its heritage: many companies give their employees time off to watch the fair's opening-day parade, revellers in cowboy dress pack local bars playing country music and businesses are often decorated with hitching-posts and hay bales for the duration of the fair.
"The Calgary Stampede is truly a city-wide celebration. It's not just down at Stampede Park," says spokesman Doug Fraser.
The Stampede also offers unique attractions in the form of a large rodeo and chuck-wagon races, plus concerts by major country stars.
Finding something unique key to holding and attracting an audience for the Ex, says Gabor Forgacs, a Ryerson business professor.
"You have to give (people) a reason to go, something that they haven't seen yet," he says.
Bednar agrees, citing a speech at the Ex this year by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and a soccer game between European giants Celtic FC and SL Benfica as examples.
"One of the challenges we have is that we're competing with peoples' memories of the CNE," he says.
Still, nostalgia is a powerful draw – Bednar cites it as the main reason people come back, and Filey admits that while the CNE's attraction for adults may have diminished, it still holds excitement for their children.
"And they will probably bring their own kids, if (the CNE) is still around," says Filey.