Battle of the Fairs

Well, it’s not quite a battle – just me checking out Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) for the first time after years (way into the double digits) of attending the annual Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver.

Living just blocks from the PNE grounds in east Vancouver for most of my life, as soon as the PNE banners go up on Hastings St. each August, you know that the end of summer is just around the corner.

It looks as if the same can be said for the CNE (The Ex). On a mid-August summer evening, I definitely felt a bit of an autumn chill in the air. But I’m told this year isn’t a typical Toronto summer as we haven’t seen the usual above 30-degree temperatures and high humidex values.

So, what do I think of the CNE? 

Well, just like the PNE, it’s in an urban setting, there are farm animals, craft displays, midway rides, a casino and merchants hawking their latest gadgets. And both fairs have the Superdogs show.


Then there’s the food. Over the last week, I would say the CNE PR folks did their job getting the media to talk about the “new and wacky” food such as chocolate fried chicken, thanksgiving waffles and s’more bao. 

I stuck to the basic fair midway fare:  a roasted corn on the cob and a tasty sausage on a bun with fried onions and green peppers from Corrado’s Authentic Italian Cuisine. I figured it was a reliable choice as it was voted the CNE’s best food concession in 2013.


There are more buildings to house the exhibits at the CNE compared to more green space at the PNE. And like everywhere in Toronto, one can pick up a Tim Hortons coffee to go at The Ex.

Overall, I would say the CNE satisfied my annual summer fair fix – this year in Toronto.

A couple of facts: the CNE was founded in 1879 and is currently one of the 10 largest fairs in North America.  Last year, the CNE attracted 1.36 million visitors over 18 days. The first PNE took place in 1910 and has become the largest annual ticketed event in B.C. drawing 900,000 visitors over 17 days.

The Princes' Gates were opened in 1927 by H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales
and his brother, Prince George.

One of the many historic buildings on the CNE grounds.

 

A Vice-Regal Trip to Ottawa

The title of this post may be misleading. I wasn’t in Ottawa to receive a Vice-Regal appointment. I didn’t see the Prime Minister and didn’t have an audience with the Governor General. I just like the term Vice-Regal. 

I must say that the national capital is a regal city with all of its institutions, monuments, memorials, churches, museums and, of course, the seat of our national government.

Visiting the centre and east blocks of the Parliament Buildings provides an easy way to learn about Canada’s history and the role of government. What a great job for the summer students who provided excellent, fact-filled tours.

On the museum front, the Canadian War Museum tells the story of Canada’s involvement in conflicts in a logical and chronological order.  And with the 100^th anniversary of the start of First World War this summer, I rediscovered much of what I have forgotten from my high school history classes. I was also honoured to learn more about the Second World War to supplement all the stories my father told my family about his time in that war.
 

Across the Ottawa River, in Gatineau is the Canadian Museum of History.  A highlight for me was a special exhibit that exposed me to an incident that I knew nothing about – the sinking of the Empress of Ireland.  Dubbed, Canada’s Titanic, two ships collided on May 29, 1914 in the St. Lawrence River. The Empress of Ireland, with 1,477 people on board, sank in less than 15 minutes. An estimated 1,032 passengers and crew perished.

On the lighter side, a temporary exhibit at the museum called Snow, revels how snow has shaped the Canadian identity. I certainly got my identity shaped with the worst winter in 20 years in Toronto!

Other stops included tours of the Supreme Court of Canada and Rideau Hall, home to the Governor General and a cruise along the Ottawa River with a perfectly-bilingual tour guide. And yes, I did manage to find time to visit Casino du Lac-Leamy.

Changing of the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill

Rideau Falls

My radio news career never took me to Ottawa, so humour me when I sign off this post with “this is Sam Corea on Parliament Hill.”

A Visit to Quebec City: Discovering 400 years of history and a Distinct Society/la société distincte

Vieux Quebec with the Chateau Frontenac

Back in grade nine, our social studies course, called Canadiana 9, focused on the history of the nation. New France, Upper Canada, Lower Canada, the Plains of Abraham, Wolfe and Montcalm are historic topics and words that have stuck in my mind over the decades. 

As a reporter in the 1980s and 1990s, the seemingly endless constitutional debates between Canada and Quebec were mainstays of the daily news. As a westerner, I don’t think I fully appreciated all the points of view in Quebec.  


The National Assembly

Proposed amendments to the Constitution would have inserted the phrase “distinct society” to recognize the difference of Quebec from the rest of Canada. But since the 1990s, the distinct society phrase appears to have faded and with this year’s Quebec provincial election, Quebec separation  also seems to be on the backburner.

 In any event, my four days in Quebec City in June prompted me to take another look at my views and come to the conclusion that Quebec is in fact a distinct place – within Canada.   

St. Roch Church



Putting aside the political discussions, Quebec City is a great visual, cultural, historic and architectural destination with all of its churches, cobblestone streets, terraces, staircases, pointed copper roofs and expansive vistas of the St. Lawrence River. 

Place Royale



400 years of history   

Quebec City fast food - avec poutine

Quebec's newest member of the National Assembly?  

 



 

 

 

A weekend of monuments, memorials and museums in Washington, DC

The first week of May took me on a spring trip to Washington, DC.  My flight was delayed for 24 hours because of fog in Toronto, so I had to pack in as much as I could during my reduced time in Washington. With so much to see in a such a short period, I think I managed to pack in a good sample of monuments, museums and memorials. 

Korean War Memorial

Air and Space Museum

Along the National Mall, one can experience various Smithsonian Museums --19 of them, and they're all free!  I managed to have a look at four museums.





For the monuments and memorials, in my view, the main points of interest in the Constitutional Gardens are the Lincoln Memorial and memorials for World War II, Vietnam Veterans and the Korean War.


Lincoln Memorial

I spent five hours over two days in the Newseum with five floors and 15 theatres and 15 galleries that champion the freedom of the press.  My favourite quote:  "Journalism is the first rough draft of history."  As a washed-up, has-been radio reporter, I could spend even more time in Newseum to fully appreciate all the galleries, videos and interactive displays.
 

911 display at Newseum: damaged antenna

 

Library of Congress, Jefferson Building

Touring the Capitol building

A tour of the U.S. Capitol is a must in Washington to fully appreciate how "issues facing the nation are considered, debated and written into law."





I wrapped up my Washington visit by taking the Metro across the Potomac River to the Arlington National Cemetery. 

After  two full days in DC, I was left with positive thoughts of the promise and hope of U.S.A., in spite of its problems.

 



 

Frozen Falls

With endless extreme weather statements, watches and warnings for my first Toronto winter, one positive outcome was a chance to see the majestic Niagara Falls in a frozen state.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some historic photos of the frozen falls.

I'm certain this won't be my only photos of the falls as I expect to visit Niagara a number of times while I'm in Ontario.

 

And speaking of ice, the Great Lakes are almost completely frozen over this year with 88 per cent ice coverage.  The last time there was this much ice on the lakes was two decades ago.

Overall, I have no major complaints about the Toronto weather -- at least it's not raining! And I am enjoying the sunshine, clear skies and stunning sunrises that I see from my lakefront condo.

However, one does get a little tired of layering and bundling up day after day.  The temperatures are expected to rise above zero this week.

Curling in the desert

In the Patch -- the Orleans Ballroom.

Much was said over the last few weeks about curling making its debut in Las Vegas. So I'll say a bit more in this blog to complete this story -- a story that almost writes itself with all the tempting clichés about curling taking a gamble on Vegas or being a hit in Sin City.

My first impressions of the Continental Cup of Curling in Vegas were documented in a blogpost in the Curling News and in a story I wrote for the Canadian Press that was picked up by many Canadian news outlets.

Escorting curlers onto the ice - Vegas style.

While in the Orleans Arena, the actual on-ice activity was much like other curling events I’ve been to in Canada (Continental Cup, Brier, Scotties and Olympic trials).  About 80 percent of the fans in the stands in Vegas were Canadians who were escaping the winter weather. But, when curlers are escorted onto the ice by showgirls in sequins, cast members from Thunder from Down Under and Marilyn and Elvis impersonators, you know you’re not in Canada, anymore!  And the noisy crowd almost matched what we heard at the curling venue at the Vancouver Games.

When we left the arena and walked through the brightly-lit casino to the shuttle bus stop and waited for the bus in the desert sunshine surrounded by palm trees, we certainly enjoyed this new twist on a winter bonspiel.
 

 Skips such as Niklas Edin were pleased to pose with curling fans .

Curling officials said they're pleased with the success of the event -- with an attendance of more than 50,000 over the four days.  And it looks like the event will be back to Vegas in a few years.

The skips I talked to support a return to Vegas.


Canada’s Brad Jacobs said the crowds, with some 4,000 fans in the stands for many of the draws, were “phenomenal,” adding that “with all of those people (from Canada) travelling here, it’s really made this event a huge success.”

The view from the media bench.

Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud, the silver medallist from Vancouver 2010, said he’s been lucky enough to play in other Continental Cups, “but never played in front of a bigger crowd than this. That’s what the Cup needed, a move to Vegas.”


And 2013 World Champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland said being in Vegas “was unbelievable, I will be back.”

In the meantime, curling fans have a lot to look forward to in the next few months: Canadian national championships and of course the Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

The US Olympic Committee promoted the Sochi Games outside the Orleans Arena. Look for scenes of palm trees in Sochi during the Winter Games next month!



The WFG Continental Cup in Las Vegas.

 

Montréal en hiver

Instead of heading back to the West Coast for the holidays, I decided to venture east to Montreal to experience that city in the winter.

The Montreal skyline - view from the Port of Montreal.

 

The trip on Via Rail made for some snowy train stop vistas along the Toronto-Montreal corridor.

The Queen Elizabeth on Boul. Rene Levesque on the right.

My home for three nights in Montreal was the Fairmont La Reine Elizabeth Hotel.  Located above the central train station and built in 1958, the hotel is billed as the largest hotel east of Toronto and is famous for hosting heads of state at Expo 67 and being the host hotel for the International Olympic Committee for the 1976 Olympic Games.  And it’s the place where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a "bed-in" in 1969.  OK, these are some trivial facts, but all contribute to the history of the hotel.

 



The owner of Beautys:  Hymie Sckolnick.

 

Of course, the focus of any trip is experiencing local food.  A lunch stop was at a luncheonette called Beautys. It has been serving meals since 1942 in the heart of Montreal’s Jewish garment district. There's plenty of atmosphere. I had the Special - a bagel sandwich made with lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes and onion.

 

A trip to Montreal is not complete without smoked meat sandwiches and poutine. Waiting in line (left) with the tourists for a sandwich à la viande fumée lunch (right) at Schwartz's Deli.

  A colleague recommended a “Montreal Special” at the Montreal Pool Room.  The street location isn’t great, but the meal inside, poutine and two “steamies” hot dogs, was tasty.

 

My search for decent mandarin oranges here in parts east continued with a stop at the Jean Talon Public Market. Again, as in Toronto, I found clementines. At least the oranges were sweet and easy-to-peel.

The most local food was a traditional holiday meal at the home of my Quebec friends Ginette and Yvon, They welcomed me to a family celebration – complete with jambon (ham) and Tourtière (French Canadian meat pie).

Bonne année!



The Montreal skyline from Mont Royal.