THUNDER BAY – This summer's Canadian Lakehead Exhibition has been cancelled.
The final nail in the coffin came on Wednesday, when Manitoba-based Select Shows and Canuck Amusement, two companies that supply rides to fairs throughout Northwestern Ontario, confirmed they won’t be hitting the road this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we don’t have a midway, we don’t have a fair,” said CLE fair chair Basil Lychowyd. “What else can we salvage? If there’s something else maybe we can do down the road, we’ll talk about it, but certainly the fair is cancelled.”
The CLE won't be alone without amusement rides.
Select Shows provides rides for events in Kenora, Dryden, Thunder Bay, Red Lake, Emo and Sioux Lookout. Canuck Amusement provides rides to smaller fairs, including Manitouwadge, Geraldton and Murillo.
“The rides aren’t leaving the yard,” Select Shows Jim Mills confirmed to Thunder Bay Television, reached by phone.
