SuperEx has officially come to a slow and painful end.

Just more than a year ago, the Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA) quietly voted to dissolve its group, accepting once and for all it simply couldn't revive SuperEx.

And with its official demise, gone is more than a century old tradition.

Gone are the carnies, the greasy food, the slice-it-and-dice-it fast-talking salesmen dotting the route to the midway.

And of course, the rides are gone, the dreaded RoundUp, the Caterpillar, the Himalayan and the loud music that accompanied them.

Gone is an annual ritual long anticipated by Ottawans of all ages -- an event that marked the end of the summer and those back to school days.

SuperEx last made an appearance at Lansdowne Park in 2010. But when it left, the plan was always to rebuild somewhere else.

And now, that's not going to happen.

There was only one dissenting voice among the directors at that Dec. 6, 2014 meeting.

Even those, like president Dave Presley, who still has trouble accepting the fair will never again rise in Ottawa -- had to agree.

Very tough. So many memories.

"There was very little discussion at the (annual general meeting). I think everyone just felt like I did, we were dead. I held up hope longer than anyone, I felt I had done everything I could possibility do to try to review the situation, to find somewhere else we could move. One day I sat with the executive and asked them outright, 'Am I just wasting my time trying to revive this?' They said I was, and now, I still feel very, very bad about the whole thing.

"But I also believed we'd pretty much exhausted every avenue," Presley said of his efforts to find an appropriate site.

The CCEA had bought a site on Albion Rd., but the land wasn't serviced and the price tag to get it workable was about $25 million.

It might as well have been $100 million for all the likelihood of getting that kind of money.

In its heyday, SuperEx attracted hundreds of thousands of people every year to its fair.

It offered up the much-loved Pure Foods pavilion -- with its Tiny Tim donuts, fresh lemonade, pizza and popcorn.

There was an ever diminishing agricultural component, but it still drew crowds.

There were lumberjacks showing off their skills, exhibitions with the latest trends in style, games you couldn't win and the annual car raffle at the front of the fair.

All comforting in their familiarity.

And for a period of time, there was the popular Grandstand, which for years attracted some of the best groups making the circuit, including the Rolling Stones.

Local radio station CFRA would broadcast live from Lansdowne Park every year. The station's founder Frank Ryan (whose initials are in the station's name) was on the Ex's board of directors. (Ottawa trivia buffs will know Frank Ryan married Kathleen Whitton, sister to Charlotte -- who was Ottawa's first female mayor).

Also broadcasting at SuperEx with the nightly news was CJOH, later CTV Ottawa, with Max Keeping enduring the hundreds of kids behind him waving at the cameras.

"It was huge thing -- everybody went to the Ex. We were ranked in the top 10 fairs in North America," said Presley.

"My whole life revolved around the exhibition."

Clearly, Presley is still frustrated by the end of SuperEx.

"I still think we're depriving lots of people from the experience," he said, adding not everyone can afford to go to higher end amusement parks such as Disneyland or Wonderland.

"Everyone you talk to has memories of the Ex.

"It's been my life, really."

IMPORTANT CENTRAL EX DATES:

Key dates in SuperEx history:

1888 Central Canada Exhibition holds its inaugural fair, with prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald and governor-general Lord Stanley in attendance.

1898 Aberdeen Pavilion opens with then-governor general Lord Aberdeen presiding.

1903 The Coliseum at Lansdowne Park opens for displays.

1909 A new steel and concrete grandstand is built at a cost of $100,000 to provide seating for nearly 10,000 people -- eventually becoming the north-side stands of Frank Clair Stadium.

1967 Today's Civic Centre and Grandstand in Frank Clair Stadium are opened.

1974 Exhibition Association starts working to move the carnival to a new location.

1998 Jerome Charron dies in a bungee ride accident at the Ex after his harness detaches.

2000 The firm responsible for the ride, Anderson Ventures, is fined $145,000 for the incident.

2010 SuperEx holds its final fair at Lansdowne Park after 122 years.

2014 The CCEA votes to dissolve its association, signalling the end for SuperEx.

SUPER EX -- The Problems

In the end, the demise of SuperEx didn't really come as any surprise.

But while expected, those closely associated with the Ex can't help but wonder why - when major fairs survive in other cities - SuperEx just couldn't make it work.

"I personally think it's terrible that Ottawa doesn't have a fair. But it happened because we just never were in a position to move. And no one was financially able to help us finance on the new site. That just never happened. I understand the city could only do so much," said Central Canada Exhibition Association president David Presley.

The exhibition began its life at Lansdowne Park, but after operating for more than 100 years it was clear to everyone a new location had to be found. There wasn't enough room at Lansdowne and the city wanted them out.

"People are pretty picky about where their tax dollars go. It's just a shame we couldn't be included in something with the city. We had plans to move to the racetrack, we spent a long time on that," Presley said.

Those plans fell through and the association was never able to raise enough money to make the land they'd purchased on Albion Rd. workable.

The directors of the Central Canada Exhibition Association had been struggling for years to keep the citywide fair alive - exploring every avenue possible for a new location where they could still run SuperEx.

It wasn't to be.

The final end of SuperEx was eerily quiet.

In fact, it happened one year ago, with few outside of the board even noticing the final nail had been hammered into SuperEx.

It was last December, one year ago, when the CCEA voted to dissolve the association.

Over the years, the city began using parts of Lansdowne Park that previously had been used by SuperEx - cutting into the available land.

And the buildings used by the fair began to show their age.

"We were just no longer welcome where we had been for all of those years. There was never enough money to make it anywhere else," former Ottawa city councillor and board member Joan O'Neill said For years, there appeared to be an endless stream of conflicts between the city and the CCEA board, with the city telling SuperEx they had to vacate, and the fair just staying put.

Extensions and deals between the two seemed endless.

The CCEA did eventually buy a parcel of unserviced land on Albion Rd. with the intention of raising money to not just operate the 11-day fair on the property, but year-round attractions.

When it became clear that option was going to be far too expensive, an estimated $25 million, Presley began trying to find other parcels of already developed land where they might be able to set up shop.

They came close, but never any cigar.

At the time, no one wanted to see SuperEx miss even a year of summer fun.

It wasn't until plans to revitalize Lansdowne Park under the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group became a reality that so did the forced exit of SuperEx.

The last fair took place in 2010.

Four years later, the vote was taken to dissolve the association - which will become official when the Albion Rd. land is eventually sold - and the money dispersed to other agricultural associations - likely local fairs.

SIDE 2: Ex Memories

With the curtain officially closing on SuperEx, the Sun talked to Ottawans about what their favourite memory of the exhibition was.

Joan O'Neill, former Ottawa city councillor and CCEA board member "I remember one time we went, I was a teenager, probably a fairly young teenager, and we'd snuck into the girlie shows. There was this girl coming on to all these men. And then she whips off her wig, and the she was a he. That was my one and only girlie show!" "It's sad. It's the end of era, but unfortunately, it was inevitable."

Mayor Jim Watson and CCEA board member "I remember one time I brought Kevin Nelson to the Ex. We were on the ferris wheel and he's whipping out one liners! It's sad that the history and tradition is gone. But we have rural fairs in Ottawa that will help to fill that void. They're very vibrant and very well attended."

Former Ottawa Mayor Jim Durrell and former CCEA president "I've got nothing but good memories of the Ex. In the 80s before the big hockey rinks, we'd bring in big name groups, like the Who's Who - whoever were the finest performers on the circuit. It was phenomenal sitting outdoors like that for a concert. "And I remember in particular the peameal bacon. I'd start salivating at the first of August! And literally the first day of Ex, my darling wife, Sam, and I would head straight for the booth. I had to have it, of course, it was never as good as I remembered, but it didn't matter.

"And obviously, most recently, it was bringing my grandchildren there and seeing the looks on their faces. They just thought it was the greatest thing."

Lyn Presley, former president of the CCEA Presley met her husband, Dave, the current president of the CCEA, at the fair.

"I was like 18 at the time meeting Dave. I grew up in old Ottawa South. The Ex was always something you looked forward to, there was the Pure Food Building, the concessionaires. We met people we still have as friends, it was just part of our lives.

"It was a thing, you saved your dimes - all the games were a dime - you saved your dimes all summer and went to the Ex. It was the last blast of the summer.

"Then you started back to school, all you had all the things you won, all the crappy things you won! It was a big deal."

Shane Holley, son of Max Keeping

"One that comes to mind is the great concerts at Lansdowne. In particular, once, maybe 2002 or thereabouts, our daughter was five and Max took my wife, Emily, me and Jordann to see Great Big Sea. After a long day of rides and candy it was still a surprise that in the middle of one of their rowdy Newfie anthems, our daughter fell asleep in grandpa's arms! We stayed for a few more songs before admitting partying at a concert with a sleeping five-year-old wasn't the best idea! I believe Max headed to the casino once he dropped us party poopers off!"

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder

"Back in the 60s you had to be at the EX every night at 11 to win the prize. My papa and I never missed. We walked over Pretoria Bridge from 103 Springhurst every night."

Dave Presley, president of the CCEA and former concessionaire "In the summertime, I lived at the Ex. My dad was a drummer and he played there every day. I'd go with him, wander around the Ex all day, then meet up with him in the evening, listen to the band and watch the fireworks."