From Corn Dogs to Midway Rides: Your Guide to the 2026 CLE
Amanda Bay
July 30, 2026
Thunder Bay, clear your calendar! The Canadian Lakehead Exhibition hits the CLE grounds August 5th to 9th, running noon to midnight every single day. Rain or shine, doesn’t matter; the fair happens, and for five days, the whole city smells like fried dough and sounds like screaming teenagers on the Ring of Fire!
This is the biggest fair in Northwestern Ontario with close to 60,000 people expected through the gates this year. It means the Scrambler line will be huge by 8 p.m. on Saturday, so get there early!
Once you’re through the gates, the rides will instantly get you (definitely recommend the full ride pass)! Over 50 of them this year, with many of the classics returning. The Ring of Fire, Yo-Yo, Tilt-A-Whirl, Wind Glider… anything that spins, flips or launches you sideways, is going to be there. The Starship deserves a special warning: it’s the one where everyone gets stuck to the wall while the ride operator laughs at your life choices. Eat your corn dog after, not before.
When your stomach’s had enough excitement for one day, the Giant Expo Wheel will be right there waiting, slow and steady, for anyone who just wants to take in the view from the top and remember why the fair has been a summer staple for generations. It’s extra special at night with all those midway lights.
Speaking of things that have stuck around for generations, the music lineup this year is full of nostalgia. Glass Tiger takes the main stage, the same band behind “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone),” a song that’s been a Canadian summer anthem since the ’80s. Alongside them you will also have the chance to see Alli Walker, Eagles tribute band Hotel California, Song Song Blue, and Undercover Legends of Rock. No matter how old you are, there’s a good chance you know the songs of at least one of these acts.
It’s also worth ducking indoors, because the fair doesn’t stop at the rides. The Dove Building has demonstrations running, plus a baby show and a cooking show. Head to the Clayton Building for Science North, a kids’ stage, and therapy dogs, while the Heritage Building will have the classic petting zoo and the chance to get up close with your favourite barn yard friends.
Then there’s the food! This is the one week a year the healthy eating rules get thrown out the door completely. Elephant ears dusted in powdered sugar, corn dogs the size of your forearm, deep fried anything and everything (including things you didn’t know could go in a deep fryer), and cotton candy in that classic pink and blue combo, melting before you even make it back to the rides.
Once you’ve eaten your weight in fair food, there’s still the games. Balloon darts, Fishy Fish, the Water Gun Race … all the same ones that took your allowance money as a kid are still standing there daring you to try again. I guarantee you’ll spend way more on tickets than that giant stuffed monkey is worth.
What most people don’t realize wandering through all the fair year after year, is that the CLE has been doing this a lot longer than any of us have been alive. It started as an agricultural fair, way back before Thunder Bay was even Thunder Bay, timed around the harvest instead of mid-summer. The grounds used to stretch all the way to what’s now the Intercity Mall, with a stock car track included. So when you’re waiting in line for a ride, know you’re standing on some genuinely old Thunder Bay stomping grounds.
The whole thing wraps up the way it always does — with the sky lighting up over the CLE grounds for the Fireworks Show on August 9th at 11 p.m. It’s the perfect ending to a week.
Entry tickets, ride tickets and wristbands are all sold at the gates.
