C.N.E. PART TWO

This post will combine our second and third days at the Canadian National Exhibtion

These were both what you could "event" days in that we went down to see certain events, or shows. Day Two was for the Superdogs Dog Show and an acrobatic show. Superdogs are a staple at the Ex, yes quite corny but it's dogs playing .. it's like me working, only I'm not

Mostly it's dogs doing an obstacle course and doing high jumping but there was a very special presentation, a remarkable dog trainer from Brazil and his eleven year old border collie

They do a dancing routine that, for me, is like the epitome of interaction and cooperation between an dog and its owner. They are quite flawless. The trainer sometimes uses hand gestures, other times just subtle movements of his body and the dog responds perfectly every time.

Border collies are all about their eyes. Anyone who has met Terra will know that. This dog never took his eyes off his owner, but it was more than just watching for cues. One of the traits of the BC is loyalty, it's why they work so hard for their shephard. This dog loved his owner, and loved being able to work and play with him. There was no denying.

After the dog show we were off to see the acrobatic show. This is becoming another tradition at the Ex, these little Cirque style shows but it tends to be a different one every year. This one was quite good and had some acts that I really hadn't seen before. It did begin with some familiar elements, like a man doing the floating crystal ball routine which we saw a couple of times at Buskerfest

Another thing we've seen before is tumblers on giant bungee chords but these guys did it on the masts of a boat

What I have never before seen was how the ball floater used lasers. He started out with some interesting yet obvious manipulations. Seeming to spawn the lasers out of his hands and pushing them around on the stage

But then he did something unexpected. He took a couple of the laser beams, seemed to tear them off and began swinging them around like asian fighting staffs. It was quite extraordinary. They were lasers, no doubt about that, but he made them seem entirely corporeal and solid. I'm not sure exactly how he did but like all good illusions, I probably don't want to know

The other highlight of the show was a young woman who played a peculiar kind of creature. Actually this woman is indeed a peculiar kind of creature. She was a contortionist, one who could do extraordinary things with her body and use that body and her facial expressions to create moments of pure whimsy

Her body control was amazing. She could do all the obvious stuff like putting her legs over her head but she could rotate her ankles 360 degrees, along with her hands at the same time, while all her limbs seem pulled through all her other limbs. It was more than just her incredible body control, it was her playfulness and just plain goofiness that helped to transform her into a fey, mischievous creature

Not so fey but equally impressive are the airplanes and pilots of the Toronto International Airshow. That was our focus on our third and final day at the Ex. Normally we would sit in the grandstands on the channel across from Ontario Place but that was a little difficult on Monday .. that area has been shut down. Seems my local politicians, while they were dealing with the cocaine addiction and trying to change the lyrics of  the national anthem, allowed the quay to fall into disrepair to the point where now it has to be completely removed. So, over to Ontario Place we went

The Air Show is one of the those CNE changes that remains true to its heart with only minor changes. One new thing was the above biplane, a Russian craft listed as the largest single engine biplane on Earth. If you live on the taiga in Russian, this is your mode of transport. It's nickname is the Siberian Schoolbus

Most of the regular players were there. That includes the Harvards, prop planes used as fighter trainers during World War II. I love these big planes, bright yellow and surprisingly graceful and instantly recognizable through the throaty drone of their engines

Of course it would not be the Air Show if you did not see the Snowbirds. Very traditional, no big surprises but always lovely to see, just the precision and, can I say this, delicacy of these pilots flying these little jet planes.

Another great day, or couple of days, at the Ex. It all goes away, fall rolls end, winter slams us around, we wait and wait till summer, summer stumbles around, we try to live as much as possible for two months, we look forward once more to the Ex but that means fall is rolling in ...

Anyway, here's the video

C.N.E. 2014 DAY ONE

End of the summer in Toronto: People dream of the end of road work, they scramble madly to catch the last rays of sunlight on a beer patio, they stare at the kids that have been around for two months and wondered why they ever loved them .. but really, the end of summer means the return of the Canadian National Exhibition

We plan three trips to the Ex year, and for the first time in many years we started to go opening day, or opening late afternoon, after I finished with the dogs. This would give us several hours to wander around and to take pics and video at the Ex after dark.

There were a few shows we wanted to see at the Ex this year but most of them had finished their final viewing of the day by the time we got there. We did, however, manage to catch the Flying Walendas who we also saw last year

The Walendas are a family troupe. This year they featured their newest member, a daughter in law. Yeh, here's a thought people: If you have a fear of heights, never marry anyone called Walenda.

Lately the Ex has been working hard on bringing in new things. Mostly, of course, these things have been very family oriented. This year they decided to do something specially for us so called grown ups. The Wild Whiskey Saloon, sponsored by Jack Daniels is, after 6 pm, adults only. It's a replica saloon, cheesey around the edges but it's a big airy tent with a patio, live country bands, pool tables, ribs and a mechanical bull .. yeh, I said it, mechanical bull

Another new feature and one that's fun for the kiddies (but who says a little Jack Daniels in the baby bottle isn't fun for the kiddies) is a little pop culture display, kind of like the Ex's very own mini Fan Expo .. very mini

One thing about the display that is not so mini is there Optimus Prime. Don't let the aforementioned kiddies too close to this big guy, he may be hungry

Back outside, the Ex is beautiful at night in the Vegas sort of way. I decided to hop on the Skyride which takes you along the midway, to take some video. Collette did not accompany. Those who know will not ask. Those who don't know .. well, don't ask anyway

After taping the lights of the Ex I caught up with Collette and we went up Princess Blvd to watch a light show that could she could actually enjoy

Nice to end our night with a bang .. and some pops, and a few explosions. More of the Ex to come

C.N.E. 2014 Day One from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

CNE DAY TWO: THE AIR SHOW AND MORE

If day one of our sojourn to the CNE was all about pogo's and acrobats, this second day was concerned with man made thunder, sunlight flaring off of wings and the "oooohs and aaaahs" of people as they crane their necks towards the sky

This was another addition of the CNE International Air Show where the US would be flying no military jets due to "budget" concerns .... or something. No matter. Jets were well represented by the well known CF-18 Hornet, a perennial visitor at this air show

Jets also came in the form of some privately owned former military jets that performed demonstrations. OK most guys during their mid life crisis may dye their hair and buy a Porshe .. but a jet? Yeh, that's a crisis of a whole new level. Like the guy who brought a former Soviet jet called the L-39 Albatross to the show

I don't know a guy named Art Nails. He's a pilot, former British military. I'm not sure how old he is or what his personal story may be. But if we are judging a man's mid life crisis by the toys he buys, Art's crisis is clearly epic. Art, you see, went and bought himself a Harrier. You know, the VTOL hover and shoot your ass over jump jet .. dude owns his own freaking Harrier. Really nothing else to say

If you are indeed suffering from some feelings of male inadequacy one of the traditional ways to work past it is to find a male who may be worse off than you and challenge him to a fight. So we had a couple of dog fights, one with two Cold War era jets that billed themselves as Red Star and the Dragon; the jets were cool, the flying impressive but honestly, do we need to dredge up some tire old natinalism to increase the entertainment value?

The story of men, during their middle age crisis competing with other men to reprove their virility (yeh I said "reprove" live with it) is not just a contemporary phenonenon, it goes back a long way. With airplanes, it goes right back to the First World War, where dudes could point to their biwing with macho pride .. until they saw the German feller with his triplane. Yeh that's right, mine is bigger than yours ...

The Air Show was  not all about flexing of muscles, though Mike Wiskus has some kind of muscle to flex; he flies a biwing too, but it's a custom built overpowered acrobatic biplane that he flies with what appears to be reckless abandon ... spinning out of high stalls, doing a front somersault, straffing the surface of Lake Ontario .. but in actuality is a display of incredible skill

More skill with prop planes was displayed by the Trojan Horsemen (and yeh, half of that name can fall into the whole "show me yours and I'll show you mine analogy but let's leave that be) who fly six T-28 Trojan, a piston-engined trainer used the American military. They did some nice close quarter formation flying as well as individual maneuvers

All these planes fly fast, they all fly high and their pilots love to make them do things that seem impossible. It must be, for the passengers, a bit scary. How else would you explain their desire to jump out of a perfectly serviceable airplane

The Tutor trainer jets flown by the Snow Birds can accomodate guests but they never do so during the air show. Even if they did, I don't think anyone is jumping out of one of these planes. Even if their stunts may want you to do so

After the show we flew back to the midway .. ok, not flew, after 4 hours sitting on our bums these old bones don't exactly fly ... for one final gander around the CNE grounds. Midway lights after dark, people zipping down the zipline, sand sculptures, the clang of the midway ...


Here's the video

C.N.E. AIR SHOW 2011

Another year, another Air Show. Traditionally, the Canadian National Exhibition marks the end of summer here in Toronto so my question is ... where the hell did the summer go? Well, some of it went to Iceland and took us along for the ride.

This year we only had one day to go the Ex and of course we picked one of the days of the Air Show. Now that is a good four hours right there and it was the last day of the Ex with everything closing down at 9 pm; after the show we had time to play a couple of days (and win Terra a new toy) buy a John Wayne coffee mug and hit the Food Building. But of course the Air Show was the star of the day.

It was grey and quite cool down by the water but I had to say, it was one of the better shows we've seen in recent years. There was a good variety of aircraft including not seen before at the show. One of these was the Osprey, a US prop driven VTOL aircraft; a combination of plane and helicopter that can change its orientation on the fly ... so to speak.

It was quite impressive to watch the engines literally change their position while the machine was in flight.

Mostly the Air Show is about airplanes but sometimes it's about what falls out of airplanes ... in this case a group of lady skyjumpers from the U.S. called the Misty Blues

Skydivers as a rule are pretty brave people. These women were brave to the point of being heroic: they voluntarily landed in Lake Ontario. Yes, you know I'm going to say it, they made quite a splash.

There were of course several aerobatic flyers, zipping around the sky in their custom made propellor planes, doing their best to stop our hearts with stunts like flying with their wing tips just over the lake or stalling their planes and letting them tumble down the sky just before kicking their power back in.

I do love watching these little prop planes flip and spin and dive, their powerful engines screaming, their pilots working stick and rudder much like their barnstorming "forefathers" from decades ago.

The Air Show is always a combination of commercial and military planes, of props and jets and this year was no exception. The U.S. Marines brought the A-10, a war jet specializing in ground defence, not the most attractive plane one will ever see but a purpose built pugnacious aircraft that has a special place in my heart. After all, it's called the Wart Hog ..

Our own Canadian forces were not be outdone was they showed off their own CF-18 Hornet. I am not one of those guys who jump up and down and clench my fists and scream "Make it loud" at the prospect of a jet flying over but there is something to be said of the sound of the Hornet, a deep profound rumble that you can feel in your bones

Something new to the show this year was a recently formed "civilian" jet team called Heavy Metal. They flew four L-39 Albotroses and a vintage looking MiG 17 all painted in eye catching Arctic camo paint

Of course, it would not be an Air Show without the Snow Birds. As always, they closed out the show. Weather had been spotty for most of the show days and our day they ended the Snow Birds performance a bit early, citing low ceiling ... this could be true of course but the team was delayed by some kind of complication with a plane and I think this transmitted to the end of the show. Still, it's the Snow Bird folks and you have to love them.

No, really you have to love them ... or CISIS will come looking for you ... of course what are the chances they'll actually find you.

So those are Collette's pics from the Air Show, my video is below. Still can't seem to embed a Hi Def video here so if you care to see the hi rez version please click here: CNE Air Show