Rather a crotchety old thing, the Canadian National Exhibition’s PURE FOOD BUILDING was demolished in 1953 to make way for something more modernist.
<PHOTO ABOVE – the modern Food building, 1957>To this day, it remains one of the highlights of the Fair. <b/w photos by City of TORONTO Archives and Sidewalk Labs>
One of the highlights of the Food Building itself is TINY TOM’s “tiny doughnuts”, a CNE fixture since 1959. There’s nothing more synonymous with the CNE than those morsels of deep-fried dough. They can’t make enough of them. The tiny treats were perfected by Ron and Syd Brazier more than 50 years ago – inspired by another vendor who’d come up from New York State. His Tom Thumb Donuts begat Tiny Tom Donuts – and the rest is history.
This year, the Canadian National Exhibition runs from Friday, August 16 to Labour Day, Monday, September 2/2019. . . . . Have fun at the Fair!
Tag Archives: Canadian National Exhibition Toronto
AUTHOR LEE SHIMANO IS A TRUE FAN OF THE C.N.E. AND SHE’S PUBLISHED A BOOK ABOUT IT
LEE SHIMANO is a CNE enthusiast, and her treasured collection of Canadian National Exhibition memorabilia is most impressive. As a youngster she says “the CNE was this huge, magical world. It was only open for . . . 10 to 14 days. So it was very special.” And a perfect subject for a book.
Ms. Shimano’s book, ‘Treasures of the CNE”, features her private collection and the positive stories of.people who loved Canada’s largest fair. The self-published book came out in 2017. It’s from FRIESENPRESS, and it’s also available from AMAZON as well as several other outlets. <PHOTO BELOW – the Canadettes on the big stage at the Ex, 1960’s>
