A Day at The Ex: fun at the Canadian National Exhibition

Dufferin entrance @ The Ex/Canadian National Exhibition

Am sure folks are glad that the term, “The Ex,” can be associated with fun over here in TO. It actually refers to the annual event at Exhibition Place starting 18 days before and leading to Labour day. When I see ads of The Ex on TV and outdoors, it usually signals the end of summer and that school will start soon. This is when I try to cram everything I can in the last few weeks of summer. Why is it ever so short?!!

The fam and I had not been to The Ex in years. DD#1 cannot remember it and DD#2 has never been. So this year, we decided to meet with a friend and check it out again. Am so happy we went!

The CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) offers a lot of experiences for everyone. There are midway rides and games, shopping, and tons of food. There are also concerts, celebrity chefs, performances as well as farm animals, mascots and even a casino!

Buddhist monk sand art demonstration at CNE 2016

Balancing rocks and Sand Sculpture exhibits at CNE 2016

We started off with shopping, of course! We looked at some deals at the Outlet place then moved on to the International Pavilion. We really enjoyed going from booth to booth and looking at (ok, ok, buying some) goodies from various countries.

We paused midway to catch the Superdogs show 

Superdogs show at CNE 2016

and while we were going around the Enercare Centre, we caught a couple more shows--(Amethyst Scottish Dancers of Nova Scotia and the Ukraina Dance Ensemble. The girls enjoyed watching the dance performances and I especially loved the costumes!

Ukrainia Dance Ensemble performance at CNE 2016

We also caught a glimpse of Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford, but we didn’t stay to watch the cooking demo.

Celebrity Chef Lynn Crawford @ CNE 2016

We spent most of our time here but also checked out more shopping at the Arts and Crafts Pavilion.

At the Food Building, they had the usual classic fair foods, international cuisine as well as the crazy concoctions they make available just at the CNE. In the past they’ve had Doughnut Burgers (two doughnuts with a burger patty in between), Poutine balls (deep fried, of course), and spicy peanut butter Sriracha rolls. This year, they had Bug Dog (hot dog topped with crispy crickets), Spam Double downs (sandwich made of two thick slices of Spam with bacon, tomato, cheese and sauce in between),  and Philly Steaklair (Cheese Steak inside an éclair) among other things.

Philly Steakclair booth at Food building, CNE 2016

We didn’t get to try these anymore as we decided to get pizza to tide us over while shopping. By the time we got to the Food Building, we were still full so we just got dessert of brownie ice cream sandwiches instead. Next time we go, I will make sure to plan around the Food Building and try not to get too distracted with the shopping (well, I said, try!).

Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream brownie sandwich at CNE 2016

To cap the day, we caught the second and last performance for the day of the Aerial Acrobatic and Ice Skating show featuring Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette. It was a very entertaining show where the awesome skaters performed mostly to 80s music. They got some Bruno Mars towards the end so they took us back to the present as well.

Ice Skating show at Ricoh Coliseum, CNE 2016

Joannie Rochette at the Ice Skating Show, Ricoh Coliseum, CNE 2016

We had a fun day all around even if we no longer went on rides or played games. We could’ve spent all day here, but we had to go. I don’t think we will wait another 8 years before we visit again! Our whole fam loved it! If you haven't been, there is still some time to catch it. 

One with the trees: an adventure at Treewalk Village and Treetop Trekking

Treetop Trekking @ Stouffville

I had a terrible time booking our visit to Treekwalk Village and Treetop Trekking at Stouffville. The phone just kept ringing and I even left a message but did not get a call back. After a couple of days of trying, I was actually surprised that someone picked up the phone! After booking, it also took a while to get the confirmation over email that I dreaded having to call back to follow up. I had to call back the next day just to have them send me the confirmation. Needless to say, it was such a pain to book. Now, all of that aside, we had a wonderful time when we finally got there.

Treewalk Village @ Stouffville

We arrived at 11am and quickly got our wristbands as we had pre-registered. I believe they also sometimes take walk-ins, if space allows. Our printed confirmation allowed us free parking/entrance at Bruce’s Mill where the parks were located. As we also did our waivers (of course no one is held liable for anything these days!) beforehand, we were processed quickly enough.

The girls had such a blast at the Treewalk village. And actually, so did the adults! Grandma just relaxed at one of the many picnic tables they had while hubby, the kids and I traversed the nets to go from treehouse to treehouse. It was so much fun! We wished we had this in our backyard! Hubby and I wished we had this when we were growing up!

Treehouses @ Treewalk Village

mini wall for mini climbers @ Treewalk Village

There were tunnels to explore, obstacle courses to run and many treehouses to explore. As we were under the canopy of the giant trees, it was cool and shady. 

Tunnels @ Treewalk Village

courses @ Treewalk Village

We had our small picnic lunch and then, hubby, DD#1 and I went off to do the Monarch Zipline at the Treetop Trekking next door.

We didn’t try out the aerial courses as it was expected to take over 2 hours and we didn’t want DD#2 to have to wait for us for so long, not being able to join in the fun (minimum age is 9 and height requirement 4’7” applied).

After signing in again, we went through the safety orientation which took about 30 minutes. It was a pretty good orientation where we got info on the rules of the park and how to safely use the equipment. I have to admit that coming over, I was a bit nervous if I could actually do this. I saw some videos and I wasn’t sure I was brave enough for the zipline. With that orientation, though, it made me more confident and off I went to the zipline without my heart in my throat! Whew!

ladder for Monarch Zipline @ Treetop Trekking Stouffville

After the training, we climbed about 30+ feet to the park’s biggest zipline, the Monarch. We then zipped through a 700-foot zipline over a butterfly garden doing 40-50kph. It was SO MUCH FUN!! And it was over in seconds. Too bad we couldn’t do it over and over again as we were only allowed to do this once. I didn't have enough skill or courage to be doing this for the first time while lugging a camera or phone. So I am not able to share more pics. Note to self: I have to get that Go Pro thing soon!

DD#2 was feeling upset at not being able to do this zipline so we will definitely be back when she is older and taller. Maybe we will try the other parks of Treetop Trekking. I do dread having to book this again but at least it won’t be for some time. Rates are not the cheapest and are posted on their website.

Sundays are for Summer Pop Up Markets: Toronto Urban Collective

Summer Pop Up Market: Toronto Urban Collective

The girls do not like shopping much. Maybe they are not yet of that age, but it looks as though they did not inherit the gene from my side of the family.  My mom and I love checking out bazaars and local fairs to discover stuff we won’t easily find elsewhere. So we were excited to go to the Summer Pop Up Market of Toronto Urban Collective.

Summer Pop Up Market: Toronto Urban Collective

Last Sunday, the event was held at The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. The venue was perfect--great that it was indoors as the heat and humidity would not have been conducive to retail therapy.

We loved that the vendors were all locals and the quality of the merchandise was really good. We noticed that there were quite a few stalls selling soap, but the goods were pretty varied. There were hand-sewn leather products, clothing, jewelry, and even plants! Grandma bought each of the girls a pair of cute earrings and after that, we could tell that we were slowly turning them into shoppers! 

They started looking really interested at the variety and uniqueness of the merchandise on offer. Hmmmnnn….not sure if Hubby will be pleased to know that…Anyway, I also got each of the girls personalized stamped leather tags (made right before their eyes!) for their school bags.

Earrings and Leather tags from Little Orbs and Hide&Seam: Toronto Urban Collective

After that, we just got food, food, and more food. We snacked on some Caramelized Apricot Vanilla Raspberries and Toasted Banana Smores paletas (Latin American-style, fruit-based vegan popsicles), Vanilla Ricotta and Cappuccino cannolis (Italian pastry) 

Holy Cannoli Shells and Cream: Toronto Urban Collective

and Kimchi Bacon and Korean chicken dumplings! 

Steambox Dumplings: Toronto Urban Collective

And because we got stuffed, we just brought home everything else we wanted to try--we got some macarons (of course!), popcorn, 

Roq Desser Co macarons and popcorn: Toronto Urban Collective

Peruvian dulce de leche cookies, 

Sol cookies: Toronto Urban Collective

and uber-gorgeous Brigadeiros (Brazilian chocolate treats, like truffles, caramel and fudge all in one!). Foodie heaven, indeed!

Chocollata Gourmet: Toronto Urban Collective

There were about a hundred local and one-of-a-kind vendors in this pop-up. We truly enjoyed discovering each of them. The girls confirmed they did, too! Watch out, retail world, a couple of new shoppers are being released soon!

Indulging in Macaron

Ela's Macarons

A new kiosk has just popped up in Vaughan Mills. While out doing retail therapy, one is in a perfect state of mind to further indulge. So, indulge we did and tried out assorted macarons from Ela’s Macarons. The explosion of colours was a delight to the eyes and it was a challenge to choose which ones to try. So we got some of each at $24 for a dozen. Our favourites were the Mint Chocolate, Pistachio and Cappuccino. We didn’t get to try some quirky ones like Birthday Cake and Cotton Candy—save some for next time!

The macarons were delicious—a slight crunch as you bite into a creamy filling, hinting at the flavours and not overpowering. It was not overly sweet. The packaging was elegant as well.

It will not be hard to convince me to upgrade to this treat from the usual pretzels and cinnamon rolls we have while shopping. We just need to make sure to save some shopping money for these delights.