logo
CNE wants one couple to tie the knot or renew their vows under iconic ferris wheel

CNE wants one couple to tie the knot or renew their vows under iconic ferris wheel

TORONTO - The Canadian National Exhibition sees wedding proposals, first dates and meet-cutes every year but this time around, the fair would like to play cupid.
The exhibition has launched Marriage on the Midway, a contest for one Ontario couple to tie the knot or renew their vows with a wedding on the fair grounds.
'Every single year, we have people who come to the CNE, and they're here to make memories and have traditions,' said Jane Matthews, CNE marketing director.
'We see people get proposed to here every year. We have requests come in every single year to actually have their wedding on site,' Matthews added. 'So finally, we said, you know what, like, why not? Let's have a wedding.'
The winning couple will get a vow ceremony under the SuperWheel, an official wedding photographer and a wedding cake designed by a local bakery.
The couple can invite up to 20 guests for unlimited rides, a $500 food voucher and seats to the 98 Degrees in concert.
'I'm most excited because we get to actually hear these stories and they're so unique to each couple, they weave in the CNE experience,' Matthews said, adding the community's response to the concert has been positive.
'So many people will say 'you know I had my first job at the CNE, I had my first date at the CNE, I had all my kind of firsts' and so it becomes kind of like a lovely full-circle story and I love reading those kinds of things,' she said.
Couples who live in Ontario and have a story or special connection to the fair are invited to enter, as well as just fans of the CNE who want to celebrate their commitment to each other at the fair.
The contest is accepting applications until Aug. 8 and the winning couple will be selected by Aug. 15. The wedding celebration will take place on Aug. 23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Justin Trudeau spotted at Katy Perry concert days after dining together in Montreal
Justin Trudeau spotted at Katy Perry concert days after dining together in Montreal

Hamilton Spectator

time10 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Justin Trudeau spotted at Katy Perry concert days after dining together in Montreal

MONTREAL - Justin Trudeau was spotted in the crowd at Katy Perry's concert in Montreal, days after duo dined together in the city. The appearance continues to fuel speculation about a possible relationship between the former prime minister and U.S. pop star, who had dinner at a Plateau restaurant on Monday. Last night's sighting has taken over social media with one video posted online showing Trudeau clapping and nodding his head as the 'Firework' singer commanded the stage. Perry recently split from longtime partner and actor Orlando Bloom and is in the midst of a Canadian leg for her Lifetimes tour, which lands in Quebec City tomorrow and in Toronto next week. Trudeau separated from ex-wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau in 2023 and resigned as prime minister earlier this year. A communications consultant for the Montreal restaurant Le Violon told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that Trudeau and Perry spent about two hours at the fine-dining spot Monday evening. Samantha Jin said the pair were very polite and chatted with the kitchen staff after, but mostly kept to themselves. 'We kind of got the vibe that they were a little more chill,' she said, adding there were 'no visual signs of PDA.' Celebrity site TMZ, which posted video of Trudeau and Perry in animated conversation at the eatery, also posted video of the two leaving a Montreal bar later that evening. Neither camp has responded to requests for comment. -By Cassandra Szklarski in Toronto This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.

Guillermo del Toro, Jodie Foster to be honoured at this year's TIFF Tribute Awards
Guillermo del Toro, Jodie Foster to be honoured at this year's TIFF Tribute Awards

Hamilton Spectator

time12 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Guillermo del Toro, Jodie Foster to be honoured at this year's TIFF Tribute Awards

Guillermo del Toro and Jodie Foster are among those set to receive special honours at the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. De Toro will be presented with the Ebert Director Award — recognizing filmmakers who have exemplified greatness — at the TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 7. The Academy Award-winning director will premiere his sci-fi feature 'Frankenstein' at the festival. Jodie Foster will receive this year's Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, recognizing women in film who pave the way for others. The two-time Oscar winner will join past recipients Cate Blanchett, Patricia Arquette and Michelle Yeoh. American-Canadian actor Brendan Fraser will serve as honorary chair of the proceedings. Meanwhile, Japanese writer-director Mitsuyo Miyazaki, also known as Hikari, will be honoured with the Emerging Talent Award, and South Korean actor and 'Squid Game' star Lee Byung-hun will receive the Special Tribute Award. TIFF also announced Thursday that Park Chan-wook's comedy thriller 'No Other Choice' will make its North American premiere at the festival. It stars Byung-hun as a middle-aged man on a desperate job hunt after being fired from a role he's had for 25 years. TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with 'John Candy: I Like Me,' a documentary on the late Canadian comic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.

Rising costs, slow ticket sales put JP Saxe's North American tour in jeopardy
Rising costs, slow ticket sales put JP Saxe's North American tour in jeopardy

Hamilton Spectator

timea day ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Rising costs, slow ticket sales put JP Saxe's North American tour in jeopardy

TORONTO - JP Saxe was ready to roll across North America this fall on his latest concert tour, but those plans are now hanging by a thread as the Grammy-nominated musician confronts sluggish ticket sales and the soaring cost of life on the road. The Toronto singer-songwriter took to his social media earlier this week with a plea to his fans, saying that if he didn't sell about 20,000 tickets to his upcoming Make Yourself at Home tour within 48 hours, it would likely be cancelled. 'I thought we could maybe do it,' he said in a video interview with The Canadian Press. 'It's looking like maybe we can't. And that's sad, but also just part of what it means to be an artist.' While a definitive call hadn't been made on his tour's fate by Wednesday evening, he said the prospects weren't looking good. Saxe is scheduled to play more than 25 dates across North America, including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, where most venues hold a couple thousand people. Tickets start at around $50, which is on the low end of prices for musicians of his calibre. Live music is under massive pressure compounded by a shaky economy, years of inflation and concert ticket prices that in many cases skyrocketed by hundreds of dollars this year. 'We tried to keep the prices as low as we possibly could,' Saxe said. '(It's) more than a movie ticket but a hell of a lot less than going to the Rogers Centre to see the Weeknd.' Saxe is best known for his 2019 smash pop single 'If the World Was Ending' with Julia Michaels and since then, he's released a consistent flow of popular tracks, including 'Hey Stupid, I Love You' and 'I Don't Miss You.' But he says activity on streaming platforms doesn't necessarily translate into a profitable touring model. 'My last tour was mostly sold out in every city and we lost about $200,000,' he said. 'Touring is really expensive unless you do it in the most bare bones way, you know, if you want to be in a van with two people, play solo and have no lights. (This time,) we didn't do anything crazy expensive. It was basic stuff, like a bass player.' 'The basics are expensive,' he added. 'A bus is expensive.' Saxe's experience offered rare insight into a corner of the music business for artists who are popular but not among the elite superstars who fill arenas and stadiums. Typically, when tours aren't selling well, musicians bow out by blaming illness or scheduling conflicts. 'Artists don't want to look like they're falling off,' he said. Saxe said that while others advised him against sharing that ticket sales have fallen short, he felt there was no other option but to tell the truth. 'As a general rule, I'm always trying to practice sincerity in failure rather than the facade of success,' he said. 'I think it's really tempting as an artist, or as anyone, to always be projecting that everything is great at all times. And I find that uninteresting and disingenuous.' Like many musicians, Saxe reaped the financial benefits of his deal with a major record label. Often, labels sign new artists with an agreement to cover the costs of their first tours in exchange for a larger share of other facets of their career, such as streaming revenues. Saxe said he is at the end of a three-album deal with his label. As part of it, the label wasn't going to cover this tour, which meant he 'couldn't lose that much money,' as in the past. He said that meant he needed to book larger venues to offset the costs. 'We put so much time and effort ... to get it to a place where it would break even,' he said. 'Even if we can do this tour, it won't make money, but we won't lose money. That was kind of the goal.' Saxe said this experience has been 'a reminder of how powerful it can be when you're just transparent about what it looks like to be an artist.' His initial video has racked up 1.5 million views on TikTok and more than 10,000 likes on Instagram. A second one posted on Tuesday showed a crowd singing along to his song 'A Little Bit Yours' with the message: 'I thought it was impossible, but there's a chance you're saving this tour.' Whether his tour goes forward or not, Saxe said it won't much change his approach to his music. 'My goal in the broader sense is to continue to make art in the most transparent way possible,' he said. 'At the end of the day, I didn't get into making music to hide from anyone. It was quite the opposite.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store