I’ve been to the Ex many, many times, but never as a mommy. There is a whole side to it I never knew. The C.N.E. is so kid-friendly that we were only there for five minutes before finding a fantastic water fountain just past the Food Building. My little man is water-fountain crazy, so we spent a fair bit of time here.
What I found extremely cool about this fountain is that it was obviously inspired by Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain, one of my very favourites pieces of public art in the world. 50-foot glass block towers feature giant faces, and water spouts out of their mouths. It is amazing to experience whether you have kids or not. My little man liked it so much we went back twice.
The C.N.E.’s water fountain doesn’t quite compare to the Crown Fountain, but I love that someone tried to make something like it. Afterwards we moved on to the Kid’s World section where there is so much fun stuff for little ones including a giant playground, petting zoo, free pizza-making workshops and a music-making area with instruments the kids can just bang on freely. The C.N.E. ends on September 3rd, and there are two more nights (this Wednesday and Thursday) where if you go after 5pm, admission is only $5. (It’s always free for kids under 4.)