Now that Mark doesn’t nap anymore, finding activities to keep him busy all day long is a real challenge. Every morning, I browse local news and websites frantically, looking for something to do so that we can avoid ending up at the mall. Frankly, anything will do. I’d get excited about the “Festival of Blueberries” or the “Straw Hats Week” if such events existed.
Last weekend, I got lucky. The Capital Fair had just started.
I used to love funfairs in France. In Nantes, the fair is held twice a year, in the spring and fall. As kids, we were super excited by the perspective of spending a few francs on sticky cotton candy and thrilling rides. The best part was to stroll past the stalls and the rides and pick the scariest or fastest ones.
My only experience with Canadian fairs was when the Super Ex was held at Lansdowne Park. It had been a significant disappointment. First, you had to pay to enter the fairgrounds and nothing was included in the admission fee—rides, shows, etc., were extra. I felt it was a rip-off. I mean, you’re basically paying to go spend money. In France, when you pay an entry fee to amusement parks (like Disneyland), rides are included in your tickets. At funfairs, you just purchase tickets for the rides you want.
Luckily, the Capital Fair had a “free admission” policy this year. Just what we needed!
Mark was too young for most of the rides, so we took him to the “Kidz Zone” featuring a bunch of free activities, such as the Reptile Rainforest, a petting zoo, musical instruments to try, etc.
There was a monster truck parked at the very end of the field and Mark was in awe of it. I think he would have taken it home!
Overall, I found the fair pretty friendly and fun, even though I don’t feel the same excitement as when I was a kid. That said, I would have loved to win one of these giant stuffed animals… but no such luck!
Where would one put that big pink bear??
Right. That.
(Still dreaming about it, though! :lol:)
Never tried to go in a fair, but pay just to be in there seems a little bit obnoxious. Especially when you look how it work in Europe (never been in Disneyland, but there are others). I wonder how it works in the U.S Disneyland.
I think you miss something here, Mark was right : the monster truck would have been a convenient transportation device, useful to avoid Ottawa’s traffic. I guess the fair is still open, you should ask the owner for a barter with your actual car.
Problem is, I’m not sure I could parallel park that thing. Or, you know, park it, period. That said, I would quite enjoy tackling rush hour in the 417 with it!
If I understand correctly, the two axles on this thing are steering axles, it makes parallel parking easier. But it is such a minor detail.
Mmm… now I’m interested. It doesn’t look easy to drive, though.
Exactly! The whole point of driving a monster truck is that you don’t need to worry about anything that may be in your way. That includes cars that occupy a parking space where you wish to park.
I liked the pics of the petting zoo best. Looks like Mark liked the animals, too (in an innocent way of course, not like the Welsh do 😉 ).
Mark likes animals but every time, I have to make a bad joke about Chinese eating them. I just have to. 😆
It seems less dangerous than our fair in dakar, hihi !
Canadians are obsessed with safety. Like, obsessed. I’m actually surprised they allow fairs!