Mary T.
Yelp
I'm surprised that I never reviewed Enercare Centre. Well, here goes a lot!
I held three different summer jobs at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) when I was young and had little work experience. My third job was at the old International Pavilion, which was on the left when you entered the Princess Gates. I worked at a Mexican restaurant as a cashier who sat steps away from the main doors.
I'd often be staring at the Human Adventure Area, seeing folks go into a capsule-like ride with cords attached to either side of the capsule. It would launch and head up, and back down. Lots of screams were heard. It played the same music with each ride, which I have blocked out of memory due to trauma.
There was a streetcar loop behind the Human Adventure Area for the 511 streetcar. On the other side of it was the CNE farm, Farmers' Market, Shoppers Market, and the Horse Palace. I spent a lot of time at the two markets, which started my budding interest in shopping that hasn't ceased since.
Well, the folks who redesigned the CNE relocated the streetcar loop. Its old location is where Enercare Centre currently exists. When this building was brand new, it was called Direct Energy Centre and connected Ricoh Coliseum (now Coca-Cola Coliseum, where the Toronto Marlies hockey team plays) with the other buildings that are now known as the Agricultural Annex. Enercare bought part of Direct Energy, so the name change took place several years ago.
In a nutshell, Enercare Centre is a large interconnected exhibition complex. I have mainly been here for various One of a Kind Shows over the years. My attending Marlies hockey games would rank second. I have also attended a couple of Home Shows. Recently, I was here to check out Planted Expo, which was a lot of fun eating and drinking my way through vegan eats and beverages, respectively.
There is underground parking. The key is to figure out which exhibition hall your event is at and park closer to that parking lot section. For example, if your event is at exhibition hall D, you want to park in the D section. You would then take the elevator up and you're right there.
I learned that the hard way. I parked at A and had to walk the entire hall to get to D, which was where my event was.
What was great about that mistake was taking in all the names that were dangling from the ceiling. There's a lot of glass in this complex's design, so it's pretty when the light hits the metal names.
There are washrooms near or in each exhibition hall. They are nicely maintained.
As far as seating goes, there are places to sit by the windows. I remember shopping so much at one of the One of a Kind Shows that I bought a crepe and sat down eating it by the window. Ah, memories!
Recently, I got to the Planted Expo later than I had wanted to, thanks to horrific traffic in the downtown core on a Saturday afternoon. Parking was set at a flat rate of $23. Since I had arrived at 3:30 pm and the expo was over at 5 pm, I got a reduction in my parking rate and paid $18. Sweet!
Credit cards are accepted when you park. I slid my card into the machine and was good. I did the same thing exiting. Alternatively, there was a human parking attendant at my most recent visit. You can also pay with cash or credit card with the attendant.
Being back here made me reminisce about attending so many One of a Kind Shows over the years. I still support many vendors that I had discovered at them, from The Bean Ladies for chickpea and soy bean snacks, to The Candi Factory that makes comfortable cotton and bamboo underwear for men and women.
It was nice returning here. I should come more often than every five years!
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