A Return to Where It All Began "Today was the first time in years I've been to the Ex. I wasn't crazy about going because of all the problems with hydro. My wife and I took our sons 13 and 11 years. It was there first time going. For the most part it was typical, hot weather a lot of walking etc. What made our day was walking out of the food building and looking up and seeing you Mr.Cochrane walking the wire. I had feelings of guilt for I was there being entertained at your expense. I felt guilty in case something went wrong with the wind blowing, night time with lights shinning in your face so others could see you. Some how those feelings turned to gratitude and confidence your voice speaking to us safe on the ground made it O K to watch and watch we did. Matter of fact we followed you right to the end tower, to watch you safely reach the end. Mr. Cochrane what I'm trying to say is after all that heat and walking you made our day. Our day at the Ex was just routine up to then. WE would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. What your doing for children in Ontario and around the world is phenomenal. You sir are a Canadian jewel and should have be in the hall of fame building we walked through. Hoping I guess that this letter may give you the fuel you may need to keep doing what your doing for a long, long time. Thanks again. Yours truly Karen Cochrane(Milton) and Dave Milton." via email Aug 19th Many years ago, a skinny, blonde, 14-year-old boy entered the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition looking for the owner of the Hanneford Circus. "I have run away from home and want to stay with you," he said. They gave him the worst jobs, hoping he would go home. He didn't. Eventually, he discovered he had a unique talent. That skinny boy learned to walk among the clouds. And now, he is back at the Canadian National Exhibition as one of their signature performers, skywalking above the grounds that launched his life on the wire. Jay Cochrane will skywalk daily on an 800 foot long wire, 20 stories above the crowds. The skyline of Toronto will gain a new jewel. On Monday, August 11, Jay performed a "Media Skywalk," a preliminary test of the wire. The Blackout of 2003 postponed the opening of the CNE until Monday, August 19th. Now that the event is underway, Jay will perform nightly skywalks on the main cable at 9pm each night. On weekdays he will skywalk additionally at 5pm. The weekends of the CNE he will add a 2:30pm skywalk as well. In 14 days, Jay is scheduled to skywalk the main cable 36 times, covering a total distance of 36,000 feet or 6.8 miles. The main skywalk cable is actually 2,500 feet long, stretching over the towers from the Princess Gate to an anchor nearly 1/2 mile inside the grounds. 66 guide lines hold the towers in position (as well as the weight of the main cable) and 48 guide lines are attached to the main cable. Each guide line is 400 feet long, with a total of 45,600 feet or 8.63 miles of guide wires used to stabilize the skywalk wire. A million pounds of ballast has been used to anchor all the lines in place. Jay personally checks and rechecks each guide line to guarantee the safety. Jay uses NO safety devices of any kind. View a quicktime video of "Skywalk Toronto at the CNE" and see the beauty of Jay's performance. (27.8 MB) Order a numbered 8 x 10 print of Skywalk Toronto! Visit Jay's Store for posters, tshirts, and cards from his previous skywalks. Order a numbered 12 x 18 poster of Skywalk Toronto! Learn more about the Canadian National Exhibition.