Last night, I spent an hour going over a half hour video of a walk-through of the Enercare Centre at the 2022 Canadian National Exhibition. You’re welcome.
I’m writing a series of short stories that take place primarily at the Ex, which I have loved since I started going to it as a kid. So, this video (which has all of 3,000 views) was research. And as it happens, useful research: I was able to add details to the story that, I hope, will give it added verisimilitude.
(Occasionally in the stories, I will add elements that I know were not part of the 2022 Exhibition, but that add to the entertainment value of the story. In the first story, for instance, I introduced the Bug Bistro in the Food Building, even though I’m pretty sure it was only there for one year. Mustn’t let the truth get in the way of having fun.)
This led me to all sorts of useful videos about the Ex (including a couple about its history). Two and a half cheers for YouTube! It would have been three, but, you know…ads…)
Watching the video, I couldn’t help but notice a couple of things about the CNE, which was closed in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID. The Enercare Centre seems, to me, to have fewer exhibitors, leaving a lot more empty floor space. The other thing is that there didn’t appear to be a lot of people. I remembered the Enercare Centre as a bustling place full of people. In 2022, not so much.
I hope the people return and the Ex thrives. I’m not comfortable being in crowds of people just yet, but I do hope to be able to return to it some day.