* I borrowed a golf cart on Republican Day and took some friends on a tour of the Illinois State Fair. While we were joy-riding, we used my iPhone to video the entire fairgrounds. The idea was to have a little fun, but also show some of you who’ve never been to the State Fair what it looks like. I also thought it would be a good video to watch this winter when we’re all cold and miserable and need some warm memories.

Trouble is, I didn’t turn my iPhone camera on for the first portion of the tour. Oops. Luckily, I figured out the problem as we approached the area in front of the Grandstand.

The video is shaky, the audio is lousy, but we all had a really good time. Ryan McLaughlin of Mac Strategies is the videographer, I’m the driver-narrator, and my intern Barton Lorimor and Ryan’s VP Ryan Keith are in the back, chuckling away.

* Here’s Part One, which starts right at the point where I discovered my screwup…

* I probably shouldn’t post Part Two, since we kinda abused the borrowed cart a little bit, but I was determined to drive down that hill to Happy Hollow behind the Illinois Building. Mac was all for it, but Barton didn’t think we could do it…

* And Part 3, our conclusion…

* Meanwhile, WBEZ shot this video of how the Republican Day crowd reacted to a silly 80s cover band. They didn’t much care for it…

Illinois State Fair - Walking on Sunshine from WBEZ on Vimeo.

* WBEZ’s Justin Kaufmann and Steve Edwards launched a new show from the State Fair this week. It’s called “The Best Game in Town,” and I was fortunate enough to be a guest. Click here to listen.