Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-01


- means place Of meeting The Indians
named it when they gathered here to trade
furs with the French, coming over Lake On
tario in their canoes, and trailing down from
the forests. Now, on the same ground where
the Indians met, Canadians gather every fall
at what has become the biggest annual ex-
position held anywhere-the Canadian Ma
tional Exhibition.
Expositions and fairs are held all over
Canada, much like our sown state and local
fairs. But the Toronto exhibition claims to
hold the record for elaborateness, size and
popularity.
To Toronto the exhibition is the event of
the year. It has been an institution for 43
consecutive years. All year round the 264
acres Of Exhibition City on Lake Ontario
stand practically deserted, with only care
takers to keep the buildings, fountains, band
stands, lawns and flower beds In trim But
| all the time the board of directors OF the
| exhibition and their COMMITTEES are working.
The day after the exhibition closes the heads
begin considering improvements for next
year. To be on the board is one of the
most important honors Toronto can confer
upon her leading citizens. The city is proud
of the record that it has kept politics out of
| its exhibition.
| When the affair opens, visitors pour into
| the city. They come not only from all over
Canada, but from every state in the Union,
and even a good many from South America
| ana Otner more distant couutTles' LOT INC
Canadian National Exposition is famous for
being a model fair.
The fair grounds present the sort of pan
Drama of any big exposition. There are long
streets with more than a hundred stands
running paddle wheels, ball-tossing games
and other contests. Not one of the games
| is a gambling device, you are told. The
board of directors is firm about that. And
prices are reasonable. The board makes the
contracts with the concession holders, fixing
| fair prices and close watch is kept to see
| that there is no profiteering.
| Beyond the games and amusements, ana
the big white eating tents, is the grand
stand When you consider that there were
| 81, 200 children on this grandstand at three
| performances on Young Canada Day-3O,-
| 600 at time-you get an idea Of the scale
on which the Toronto exhibition has to be
planned
Community Singing
| This grand stand faces four circus rings
where vaudeville and circus acts are shown
| followed by a pageant, community singing,
and at night fireworks How to get an
audience of some 80, 900 people to sing does
not worry the exhibition managers at all
Words are thrown on two big screens, one at
each end of the 8O0-foot stage. An ordinary
megaphone or piano would scarcely carry to
| the front rows of so large an outdoor audi
| torium. But a rolling booth, open in the
side toward the people, is pulled to the center
L
horns on the top Of the booth are noticeable.
A man sits inside the booth and plays a xyl-
ophone and sings in an ordinary tone of
voice, and every word can be caught at the
| for corners of the stand.
| Canada takes kindly to singing. All sorts
Of well-known songs are quickly caught up
and finished in a climax of enthusiasm. Old
songs like "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay," "Ih the
Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and Garry Me
Back to Old Virginny," are alternated with
the newer popular tunes. "Sing loud like
| last year." the screen urges between two
members, and Canada laughs and complies.
| AS many entertainment features as there
seem to be at the exhibition, there are even
more of an educational character. The man
agement prefers to stress this side Of the
spectacle. Toronto insists that a stranger
can learn more about Canada in two hours
| at the exhibition than in a year of travel
over the country. This is probably true.
Few Americans would credit Canada with
producing the varied assortment Of things
that can be seen in this all-Canadian dis
play. y,
The manufacturers building for instance,
has elaborate displays of rooms furnished in
brocades, expensive-looking furniture. and
ornaments of glass and china that might
have come from the famous potteries of Eu-
rope. Here, too, makers Of pianos and talk