THUNDER BAY — Despite a rain-filled morning and afternoon, dozens of visitors made the most of their day at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition (CLE) on Saturday.
“It was a little bit rainy earlier, but now that it’s not raining, there are almost not a lot of people here and it’s really easy to get food...,” said Briggs Eras, a young boy attending the CLE.
"There are not a lot of lines and the rides are really fun, really thrilling. My favourite one is probably the Zipper."
Saturday was a pretty nice day, although it was cloudy, he said.
While it was also lightly raining when Angelina and Antuhony Boshkaykin arrived at the CLE and it only continued to worsen when they had stopped for lunch, the weather did not deter the two siblings.
“The rides are really fun, especially the Ring of Fire,” said Angelina, who really liked the rides.
Antuhony, however, said he liked the food at the fair, especially the candy.
The siblings were not alone in their enjoyment of the rides and food available at the fair.
Aldrich Maverick, whose family was running a Filipino business at the fair, was joined by Lloyd and Lander Sibolboro, who were also working with him at a Milktease Bubble Tea stall.
“We really like the sunny days and walking around because it’s beautiful and like the nightlife and stuff,” Maverick said, which Lloyd also agreed with.
Maverick said he also liked how there were three Ferris wheels and shorter lines for one of them.
“They’re basically the same size and faster speed,” Maverick said.
Lander, similar to Antuhony, added that he also liked the food at the food court in general, which he described as “good.”
“I like the CLE at night. It’s like all the lights. It’s really bright,” he continued.
Savanah LeBlanc was also among the crowd at the fair.
“It was very wet and I went on the Force 10 one. And as soon as it started, the raindrops were like little balls. It was like little knives hitting me,” LeBlanc said.
“It was like terrible, but I got super wet. My hair was curled before I came here, if you can believe it or not.”
Taryn McCarthy, another visitor at the fair, joined LeBlanc on the rides.
“I think my favourite ride was — I don’t know what it’s called — but it just goes straight up and back down and I like the carnival games,” McCarthy said.
She said it was her first time at the CLE on Saturday.
The CLE will continue to run until Sunday from noon to midnight.
Entry tickets, ride tickets and wristbands are still available at the gates.
