What to know
- Barbara Jean Batten-Mitchell, 81, has attended the CNE her entire life, and she was honoured Friday for her decades-long connection to the annual fair.
- She has only missed a handful of CNEs, including during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic, and described the event as a multigenerational family tradition and reunion.
- Batten-Mitchell was surprised with a bouquet of yellow flowers and CNE-themed rubber duckies, as well as a golden ticket that had her name and the number 0001 engraved, giving her free admission for the rest of her life.
- The recognition was organized after her sister Elaine Darwin contacted CNE staff, while CEO Mark Holland said he hopes to honour other longtime fairgoers who have attended for 50-plus years with similar golden tickets.
One CNE veteran is finally getting her flowers – literally – after a milestone 81 years of attending the annual fair.
Barbara Jean Batten-Mitchell has been attending the country’s oldest and largest yearly tradition her entire life, first going as a baby, until now, at 81-years-old.
At a dedicated ceremony on Friday morning, Batten was honoured for her commitment in front of a crowd of fairgoers and family.
“It’s just so incredible here,” Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) CEO Mark Holland said at the ceremony. “Barb, you got most people beat, I feel, there’s not too many people who can say they’ve been here every Exhibition that’s been over 80 years.”
Batten-Mitchell hasn’t missed too many years at the CNE, but when she has, it’s been for good reason, including World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years.
The ceremony consisted of a few speeches from Holland and Barb’s “baby” sister, Elaine Darwin.
Then Batten-Mitchell was presented with a bouquet of yellow flowers and rubber duckies in CNE fashion, as well as a golden ticket that would both act as a mantlepiece for the long-time attendee as well as a free-access pass for the rest of her life.
“This has been quite an exciting day for me,” Batten-Mitchell addressed the ceremony crowd.
She added that she expected only a few family and friends to come to what she believed was going to be a small spectacle, but was blown away by the turnout.
A family-filled celebration
The celebration came as a recent surprise to Batten-Mitchell, but a welcome one, as family from all over came to see her.
“My brother just got back from… Korea and then he went to Japan. They just got back the other day, and I would never have expected him to come here two days later,” she told Now Toronto.
Batten-Mitchell added that her family lives all over the province, from London, Ont., to Oshawa.
“It’s so nice to have everybody here. Good old days, you know?” she said. “We’re probably going to try and find a corner to have something to eat and get together for a bit.”
She added that coming to the CNE has been a family tradition for generations, with her father winning second place in the harmonica open when he was a young boy. Since then, her family has been regular fairgoers.
“My grandfather was in the parade, and my uncle and all my cousins and aunts and uncles,” Batten-Mitchell explained. “They all brought their kids in carriages. I have tons of cousins, and it was our family reunion here.”
The future of the golden ticket
It was her sister, Darwin, who initially wrote to CNE staff about Batten-Mitchell’s long-running attendance.
“I started thinking, wow, she’s been here 80 years. That’s a milestone,” Darwin said to Now Toronto. “She’s a really giving, loving, kind, thoughtful person. I just thought, ‘What if we could do something for her?’ Just even a little recognition. It could be just even a little letter.”
Although for Holland, a letter wasn’t enough.
“We said, ‘No, we can’t do a letter. It’s got to be something bigger,’ and this is where this idea of a golden ticket came to something really big to celebrate 81 years through adversity, through war, through COVID, of making sure that she’s keeping our tradition alive and to celebrate Barb,” Holland told Now Toronto.
Holland added he hopes to continue the tradition, and while the golden ticket displays Batten-Mitchell’s name, along with the number 000 001, the CEO said that won’t be the only golden ticket for long.
“We’re talking to the siblings and to others who’ve [attended for] 50-plus years,” Holland explained, hoping to continue to give out the accolade to dedicated fairgoers.
“Barb’s says [000 001], but we have a feeling there’ll be more soon.”
For Batten-Mitchell, the recognition also highlights a lifetime of memories, from attending dog shows and bingo with parents, to spending time with her late sister.
“We used to come here a lot, her and I,” Batten-Mitchell explained. “We loved the cooking shows… With [our] kids in school, quite often we could come in the daytime and just come down for a couple of hours.”
Despite growing up in and around Toronto, the CNE has become a meeting ground for Batten-Mitchell’s extensive family.
With the new golden ticket, Batten-Mitchell said she was looking forward to taking advantage of the perks.
“As long as I’m alive and kicking, and as long as they’ll put me in a wheelchair,” she said.
For Friday, Batten-Mitchell already had plans for how to spend the rest of her day at The Ex.
“My husband… has a bad leg, so he couldn’t come today. So, I told him I was going to win one of those big stuffed animals and bring it home for him,” she said.
