Bookending the two-and-a-half weeks that the Canadian National Exhibition fills are several days of chaos on the exhibition grounds. Leading up to the fair, hundreds of colourful structures seem to spring out of nowhere, and prizes—sure to be some child’s pride and joy—are unpacked and put on display in the hopes of enticing one of the million or so fairgoers to try their luck. The assembly of the fairgrounds is organized, good spirited, and productive. That only makes for a more marked contrast with the Ex's disassembly. There's no sense of excitement, no fanfare: it's a messy, strictly business sort of affair, one that unceremoniously reinforces just how temporary the CNE is.

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