Central Canada Exhibition
The presence of the slogan, 'Made in Canada,' on many of the exhibits, lends a patriotic interest which was not so pronounced in former years. (The Ottawa Citizen 1903)
Prior to the CCE, the Provincial Exhibition was held by the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario. Other provincial exhibitions such as the CNE in Toronto began competing with the Provincial Exhibition that was yet to become an annual event. The Central Canada Exhibition Association was incorporated in March 1888, in order to promote "industries, arts and sciences generally." The city provided $10,000 in order for the Exhibition Grounds to be upgraded. This included a new grandstand and new floral and machinery halls. The cattle and poultry sheds and horse boxes were freshly white-washed, and there was new wiring for the entire fairgrounds to continue the fun into the night. Carolyn Gauthier writes on Facebook, "Kids always knew it was almost the end of summer when the Central Canada Exhibition or SuperEx came to town," captioning a photo of an aerial view of lit up Lansdowne Park at night. After the long days of summer turned to night, the fairgrounds would light up to brighten the fair.
Admission into the Exhibition was 25¢, with an additional 50¢ charge for a single carriage with a driver. The event's prime location in Lansdowne Park made it accessible for everyone coming by a horse-drawn carriage, or by boat along the Rideau Canal. The accessibility of Lansdowne was an advantage when inviting visitors from outside of the city. Opening day was attended by Lord Aberdeen, the inspiration of the building's name. Speeches were made acknowledging the fair's significance to the city and country. More than 50,000 visitors attended the event which lasted six days. Schools even closed in order for students to be able to attend. Some workers were permitted holidays in order to visit. The amount of letters written to permit students and workers to attend the CCE shows just how important it was to everyone to be able to go.
When the Exhibition first opened, it received nearly 5000 entries, doubling from the Provincial Exhibition of the previous year. There were 110 entries in twenty varieties of chicken in the poultry shed, which included turkeys and geese. More than 300 horses of all kinds were on display. These included standard horses, blood horses, carriage horses, and saddle horses. Horses became an important part of society especially around the time of the Industrial Revolution. In Ottawa, there were about eighteen horses for every 1000 people. As railways only ran up to the train stations, horses were what brought everything from the stations into town. The more goods brought by the railway into the city, the more horses needed to move these goods around. Eventually, breeding stronger horses with local ones became more common in order to fit our needs as humans to travel and move things around. Breeding animals led to competitions which would then be held at fairs such as the CCE to essentially showcase the modifications we could perform on animals.
The Aberdeen Pavilion showcased a variety of manufacturers that included hardware, home furnishings, and labour-saving devices like washing machines and sewing machines. Also on display were embroidery, paintings, and other "fancy works." A number of different vehicles were on display in the carriage department.
Aside from the years during World War II, Aberdeen Pavilion and the exhibition grounds were used to host the CCE annually until 2011. As farming became less an active part of the Canadian life, the exhibition content would change overtime. The park overall became a place for concerts, sports events, political conventions, military events, royal visits, and now farmers' markets. Initially driven by the agricultural life, the fair casually shifted its focus on the entertainment aspect of the rapidly growing city. With the addition of entertainment, the event would still be mainly advertised as an exhibition site for different displays such as dairy products, dog and cat shows, and horse judging.
