Sheila Galloway and her daughter Rikki have been waiting for the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition's Family Fair to arrive all summer.
"We love this place," Galloway said Wednesday after Rikki, 9, had just won herself a stuffed friend popping balloons on the midway.
And while Rikki was excited to play the games, Galloway's favourite part of the fair was the candy apples.
"That's what I came to get," she said.
The 123rd Family Fair opened on the CLE grounds Wednesday at noon and by 1 p.m. there were already children running to line up for rides and checking out the reptile zoo.
Four-year-old Elliott Graham had already won himself a toy fish and lizard and was most excited to play more games.
But he also wanted to ride a rollercoaster.
For fair chairman Ralph Scharf, the amazed look on children's faces is what makes the fair special.
"Just hearing them yell and relax on the rides, that's nice," he said. "It's seeing people really enjoying themselves."
This year, the fair's midway is a bit bigger and there are four new rides, including the Typhoon, said Scharf, who added they are expecting about 60,000 people to attend the fair over the next five days.
Advance tickets sales went tremendously well, said Scharf.
"People were flocking to the Metros to buy their tickets," he said. "It looks like it's going to be a great week."
For more information on the CLE's Family Fair visit online.
