How can you enjoy the CNE “on the cheap” this year? The Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto presents challenging prices at the door, but let’s take on the challenge for free or cheap admission and ride prices, a parade and the air show at “The Ex”.

(Added Aug. 25, 2014): Forget “cheap”, what about a free air show in Toronto? See my “How to See the Toronto CNE Air Show Free“.

(Updated Sept. 1, 2013): Let’s thank Peter Mykusz for contributing a link to his video of the Ex this year. See the paragraph “(Added Sept. 1, 2013): Video from the Ex 2013” below, just above the official CNE link paragraph.

Basic Facts about the Ex

“The Ex”, or CNE, runs from Friday August 16 through Monday, September 2, 2013. This annual event in Toronto always takes 3 full weekends, ending with Labour Day. The gates open at 10am and they expect you to leave by midnight, or 10pm on Labour Day.

While the Exhibition Grounds offer a little parking, they recommend taking the TTC or GO Transit since it will save you driving into downtown Toronto and paying over $20 to park your car. On weekends or holidays, the TTC Family Pass is a terrific deal.

Once you’re inside, most shows and buildings are free. You can spend huge sums on games, food or shopping; this article cannot help you with that.

2013 CNE Admission and Rides

Admission and rides for the Ex are normally sold separately.

Regular Adult Prices at the Door of the CNE

At the door, adult general admission tickets cost $16.

Admission is cheaper for children 13 years of age and younger, and for adults 60 and over. A CNE family admission pass costs $48 for up to 4 people, including 1 or 2 adults.

Rides cost 4-8 tickets, or “coupons”; the price ranges from 4 tickets for $5 through 55 tickets for $55.

A better deal for those who like the rides is to buy a “Ride All Day” pass for $38.

Remember that if you buy admission or ride tickets at the door, these are separate purchases.

(Added Aug. 19, 2013): Are There Any Discount CNE Tickets in 2013?

Yes, the Ex has a variety of CNE deals in 2013. After the Exhibition is under way, you have to pick specific days and times to take advantage of “CNE deals”.

Cheap Children on Mondays at the Ex

CNE admission for children aged 5-13 costs $2 rather than $12 at the door on Mondays; of course the adult pays full price. They also offer a deal for the rides.

Cheap Evenings at the Ex: Five Dollars after Five PM Some Evenings

You get a discount CNE admission for five dollars at the gate after 5pm on Monday through Thursday evenings, except for closing night on Labour Day Monday. This is a really great deal if your main interests are the shows and exhibits; I don’t think it’s enough time for rides.

The August 27  Free Youth Special at the CNE

Only on Aug. 27, children and youth 19 years and younger get free CNE admission at the gate between 10am and 3pm. They can stay until closing; it’s the time you arrive that counts. I expect you need to bring proof of age to take advantage of this free ticket to the Ex.

The Cheap Deal for the Ex is to Buy Advance Tickets

Advance tickets for the Ex have been available online since July 5, and since July 25 at their retail partner. This deal ends once the CNE opens, so August 15, 2013 is the final day to take advantage.

Why buy advance tickets to the CNE? Because you can pay $36 per adult, rather than $54, for the combined “Ride All Day plus Admission” deal.

You can buy these advance tickets in person at Pizza Pizza restaurants. You can follow links in the main site for a list of their participating restaurants in Toronto and in the GTA. Don’t expect them to deliver advance tickets with your pizza; but go ahead and ask, if you like. Once you visit the restaurant, you might spend your savings on the pizza; but that’s your choice.

Another choice is to visit the CNE web site (the link is near the end of this article), and click the purple “Buy Tickets” button. They charge an extra $1.99 per ticket for the online option. You need to print the discount coupon yourself; either in black-and-white or colour.

If you want the admission without rides, the advance ticket option is no big deal: $12 rather than $16 for adults.

CNE coupons 2013 in the Toronto Star

(Added Aug. 19, 2013): The Toronto Star newspaper prints CNE coupons. Clip the “Cents of Taste Medallions” from the paper; turn them in as discount coupons at the Ex. You can get a “3-for-2” or “$1 off” discounts from various food vendors. The most popular search term for this article is “CNE coupons 2013”.  Did you clip CNE coupons from newspaper ads? Let me know through the comments or in an e-mail; thanks!

Other Options for Cheap Admission to the Ex

Visit the site to learn about the Opening Day and Youth Days (Aug. 16-17) specials; but again these are “at the door” admission prices.

The Ex also offers special deals depending on the day or time of day. Check them out if you want to adjust your visit to suit their less-busy times.

Calculating the Deal for the Ex on the Cheap

Adults, including anyone age 14-59, who like rides get the best deal with advance tickets. You would pay $36 (or $37.99) rather than 16+38=$54 at the door.

Family passes for admission are nice for $48 at the door, but that still does not get you on any rides. If you have only one child, schedule yourself for a Monday visit to get the tyke admitted for $2. Remember that many others will have the same strategy.

Free Admission and Rides at the CNE only via Online Advance Sales and Your Air Miles Card

The best way to get CNE admission and rides on the cheap is “for free”. Redeem Air Miles (®) points to “pay”. This deal is available online as advance tickets. The costs are 95 Air Miles for admission or 290 Air Miles for the combined “Ride All Day plus Admission” package deal.

Click the “AIR MILES (®)” tab in the “Also in Tickets” column.

I admit this is “free” in that you don’t pay money, but you do “spend” some Air Miles points. That’s close enough to “free” for me.

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Again, this offer ends when the CNE opens, so take advantage and redeem Air Miles for free CNE tickets while you can.

Watch the CNE Warriors’ Day Parade for Free

On Sat. Aug. 17, the CNE continues its tradition of hosting a military parade along Princes’ Blvd in the Canadian National Exhibition grounds.

But you can watch this parade for free. The Warriors’ Day Parade starts in Gore Park near the Fort York Armoury, and enters the CNE via the Princes’ Gates. You simply need to be in the north-west corner of Coronation Park before 10:30am with a view of the intersection of Strachan Ave. and Lakeshore Blvd.

Explore the official Warriors’ Day Parade site for more details. Which two historic events do they mark in 2013? What criteria are used in judging this competitive parade?

Watch the CNE Air Show for Free

The annual CNE Air Show runs Friday Aug. 31 through Labour Day Monday Sept. 2, 2013, from 1-4:30pm. The fly-by is over Bandshell Park near the waterfront. The Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) offers up to 19% off VIP tickets through Thursday Aug. 29 via the CIAS web site.; but I’m not keen to pay anything. Next sumner I should check the CIAS web site to learn how to volunteer; maybe that would be worth free admission to the Air Show at the CNE.

My wife and I watched the Air Show one weekend from the western end of the Leslie Street Spit, otherwise known as Tommy Thompson Park. That was free to park at the foot of Leslie Street and to walk several kilometres west in a beautiful setting. Tommy Thompson Park is open to the public on weekends, but stay away during the week since trucks still rumble through with landfill materials. Due to the distance from the CNE grounds, the Leslie Street Spit is not the ideal location for true fans of aviation.

Since the CNE claims that there will be no parking in Marilyn Bell Park, I’d head for that location. Bike along the Martin Goodman Trail to the foot of Jameson Ave. and find a spot in the park with an unobstructed view of the wind turbine.

Coronation Park offers another terrific venue if you can get a line of sight without the trees. Try sitting on the grass beside the trail near the waterfront; just don’t obstruct the cyclists and runners, if you would be so kind.

Lots of people will have the same idea; let’s all be courteous Canadians, eh.

Watch the 2013 Toronto Labour Day Parade for Free

This may count as a “best kept secret” of the CNE. At least I couldn’t find a reference to the CNE Labour Day Parade in the official CNE web site. (If you do, please let me know)!

However, Workers United Canada plans to march in a Toronto Labour Day parade on Sept. 2, 2013. They will assemble at Dundas St. and University Avenue at 8:30am. Also, the Canadian Media Guild will assemble at Armoury and University. Their site implies this parade will begin at 10am.

You can watch the 2013 Labour Day Parade in Toronto for free along its public route, along Queen Street West from Bay to Dufferin, then south along Dufferin into the CNE.

If you can wrangle a spot with one of the groups marching in the Labour Day Toronto parade, you get free admission to the Ex for the rest of the day.

My thanks to Reddit user Bobzyurunkle for asking in the Toronto forum; and to fellow Redditor Sprungy for the Canadian Media Guild tip.

(Added Sept. 1, 2013): Video from the Ex 2013

Enjoy Peter Mykusz’s video, “CNE 2013, Canadian National Exhibition, 135th Year, Toronto, Ontario, Canada“. It’s a great way to spend just under 6 minutes. Thanks, Peter!

The Official CNE Web Site

As promised, here is the official CNE home page. It’s a big site; my focus was on the “Guest Info” and “Buy Tickets” tabs.

(Added Aug. 16, 2013): The Free Figment Festival, the Best Kept Secret in Toronto for Aug. 17-18

My thanks to Reddit user “chiadreams” for noting the Toronto Figment Festival. It may not be an annual Toronto event, since Figment started in New York and wanders from city to city. This is the first Figment in Toronto.

What is the Toronto Figment Festival? Well, Figment “presents free public events and exhibitions”. Think art. Think “I can bring my family to Olympic Island in the Toronto Harbour for interactive art and installations”.

Then go to the ferry docks at Queen’s Quay and Bay Street. The Figment on Olympic Island is open from 10am-6pm both Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17-18. Pay for the ferry ride to Centre Island. Then walk to Olympic Island and enjoy the art for free since it’s only a Figment. (The “where and when” comes from the Toronto City Hall calendar for the 2013 Figment Festival).

(Added Aug. 20, 2013): The New Location for the 2013 Toronto Buskerfest on Aug. 22-25

I just added this quick guide to Buskerfest Toronto 2013.

(Added Aug. 22, 2013): Three Events for Aug. 24-25 and Beyond: Shakespeare, Afro Caribbean and Chinatown

Here are three more options for things to do in Toronto: “Richard III, Afro Caribbean or Chinatown in Toronto for 2013” on August 22nd.

Alternative Things to Do for the Labour Day Weekend in Toronto

My family used to find other venues in the GTA were much less crowded on the Labour Day weekend, probably because the CNE Air Show draws so many visitors. We used to visit Marine Land in Niagara Falls, but that was long before animal rights activists made allegations that reached the news media that I followed. My guess is that the Metro Toronto Zoo or Wonderland would appreciate your patronage on that weekend; but I plan to write a more definitive article soon.

This year I found “Three Free Labour Day Weekend Events in Toronto for 2013“. Last year’s “The End of Summer 2012 Labour Day Weekend in Toronto” offered other suggestions; check them out.

The annual Canadian National Exhibition marks the final Toronto event of the summer; let’s thank this “grand old lady” for all she does.

Looking for More Annual Events or a Holiday in Toronto Canada?

You can find more annual events for your vacation in Toronto Ontario; or for local residents wanting things to do in Toronto this weekend. This blog has a keyword search in the upper right corner: type the keywords; then press [Enter] rather than clicking with your mouse.

Ideas for a Toronto Vacation or Staycation

CityPASS offers discount tickets to Toronto attractions, including Metro Toronto Zoo coupons. You buy the voucher online, print it and take it to your first destination; let’s say it’s the zoo. They give you the coupon booklet but remove the Metro Toronto Zoo discount tickets. Visit the next four attractions, where helpful staff relieve your booklet of tickets but leave you with the rest of the information. You save over $40 by spending about $70. The voucher is good for almost two years, but you have to use all the discount admission tickets within nine days. This is terrific for tourists looking for multiple things to do in Toronto, or for a hometown stay-cation: use discount tickets to Casa Loma, the CN Tower, the Metro Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum in a nine day adventure. That’s five things to do while vacationing in Toronto Canada, and at a bargain price thanks to the discount coupons.

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Thanks for reading about how to enjoy the CNE on the cheap in 2013.