TORONTO — Toronto's beloved annual fair is touting a lineup of fresh, fried and funky foods ahead of the kickoff of its 146th year in the city.
The Canadian National Exhibition is set to open its gates at the Exhibition Place on Friday, with carnival games, rides, performances and sweet treats on full display.
Some of this year’s wacky food offerings include deep-fried watermelon, butter ice cream, chicken nugget-stuffed cookies and Labubu-themed cheese curds.
Hashbrown ice cream sandwiches, churro pizzas, dirty sodas, sushi corn dogs and two-foot-long hot dogs are also set to join the mix of the more than two dozen new food items.
As a kid, Rick Matharu remembers going to the CNE with his parents and indulging in the weird food combinations.
Now returning to the fair for his third time with his food truck Rick's Good Eats, Matharu said he put a lot of pressure on himself to come up with creative dishes after his combinations last year — for one, deep-fried butter chicken lasagna — went viral.
"This year we were like, 'Okay, we need to do something that's different, that's going to speak volumes, but also that keeps to my roots,'" said Matharu. He is serving up the lasagna again, as well as butter chicken birria-style tacos and butter chicken and waffles.
Coming back to the CNE as a vendor means more than just serving food. It's also a way to display Canada's diversity, Matharu said.
"This is how Canadians do it and this is how we do it the best. You know, you can't mess with our food, our culture of our lives and our people."
Meanwhile, Toronto-born Craig's Cookies has decided to spice up the classic chocolate chip cookie by enveloping a chicken nugget in its chocolatey goodness and serving it up with a side of barbecue sauce.
"Craig has always dreamt of putting a chicken nugget in a cookie so when the CNE came up this year we were like, 'What can we do that stays true to Craig and that everyone will be excited about?'" said Peggy Lo, spokesperson for Craig's Cookies.
Following up on last year's Taylor Swift deep-fried cheese curds is this year's offering from The King Of Curds: Labubu deep-fried cheese curds.
This sweet yet savoury dessert involves gooey fried cheese topped with colourful, crumbled macaron shells, a drizzle of a macaron buttercream and edible glitter.
"Labubus are so big and fun and colourful and (we thought) it would just make a great dish for the CNE," said owner Karyn Johnson.
There are new, non-culinary experiences on offer at this year's fair, too.
In an immersive storytelling experience, Mythos, guests can interact with bright screens, LED lights and artists depicting three cultural stories from China, Nigeria and the Haudenosaunee community.
Also new this year is a chance to eat dinner suspended over 100 feet in the air, aerial balloon shows and the festival's first-ever drag brunch featuring contestants from Canada's Drag Race.
The CNE's new CEO, former federal health minister Mark Holland, worked his official first day of the job Wednesday and said he's excited to be a part of an important cultural event for the city.
"This is a place where if you're in the GTA, it's really in your bones," Holland said Wednesday in an interview.
Asked how he feels about how his previous cabinet portfolio seems to run contrary to some of the food on display, Holland asserted the festival offers opportunity for exercise.
"When you come to the fair, what do you do on the midway? You're walking everywhere, you're engaging with people, you're being part of the community," he said.
"So for me, that's a natural extension to the work that I've done in the past."
The exhibition opens its doors at 10 a.m. Friday and will run until Sept. 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press
