THUNDER BAY – Kyle Stewart says there was no way he was missing the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition’s annual fair.
Not a chance, the 14-year-old said on Sunday, hours before the lights were set to dim on the midway for another year.
“It’s just so fun. There are so many rides to go on and so many people here. I just have a good time coming here,” he said, adding the high-flying zipper was his favourite attraction at the five-day event, which kicked off on Wednesday.
“You do so many back flips and it’s one of the rides that I’m OK on.”
His buddy, David Letourneau, said the CLE is an annual tradition.
“Me and my friends have been planning this for a good few months. It’s like a yearly thing we do every year. It’s just cool,” the 14-year-old said.
“The rides are just fun, the food’s good, it’s pretty cool for everyone.”
Like Kyle, David’s favourite ride is the Zipper.
“You spin like 20 times,” he said, tossing in a shout-out to the hundreds of workers and volunteers who helped put on the 128th edition of the CLE fair.
Twelve-year-old Maddox Holmes agreed the rides were the best part of the fair, in particular the Pirate Ship.
“You’re just swinging from one side to another,” he said. “It just makes it more fun to go fast.”
David Iwanyszyn said he wanted to come to the CLE to have some summer fun. While there were plenty of games and food to go around, the rides were what convinced him to join his friends this weekend on the CLE grounds.
His favourite was the G-Force, a ride that sees users strapped and spun in vertical circles, for several minutes.
“It’s really fun. You stand up and it goes round and round,” the youngster said.
This year’s fair was once again the place to be for the past few days in Thunder Bay, with about 55,000 people expected to pass through the turnstiles by the time the event came to a close.
CLE chair Basil Lychowyd said the annual fair has long been an attraction that’s drawn people in from around the region.
“We have people coming in from out of town – Atikokan, Nipigon, Marathon, Sioux Lookout. They come here as well. It’s drawing toward the end of the year, the fall and the kids want to get their (fun in) before school and they come here and have a good time,” Lychwowyd told TBTV News.
This year's fair closed out with a performance by Canadian music legends Prism and a fireworks spectacular.
