[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] >> YES, AND ERIC HAS A SPECIAL GUEST ON STAGE.

TAKE IT AWAY, ERIC.

>> Eric: ONE OF OUR GREAT TRADITIONS IS TO HAVE KEVIN KLING COME BY AND GIVE US AN ESSAY ON WHAT THE STATE FAIR DOES TO BRING MINNESOTANS TOGETHER, SO, KEVIN, TAKE IT AWAY.

>> THANKS, ERIC.

HEY, EVERYBODY!

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] SO IF YOU LISTEN YOU CAN HEAR THE MUSIC OF THE FAIR.

SOUNDS OF CARNY BARKERS, FOOD VENDORS, MACHINERY CROWDS, AND THEN THERE'S THE SMELLS OF LIVESTOCK AND PEOPLE AND, UH, GLAZED DONUTS, AND I THINK I'M GETTING A LITTLE MEATBALL UP HERE.

THE SMELL OF GREASE, AND GREASE, AND GREASE, AND GREASE.

BUT IN THIS CACOPHONY I FIND PEACE, A FAMILIARITY OF ANCESTORS AND ANIMALS, ART AND MUSIC, AND WHAT WE LOVINGLY CALL "FASHION."

THIS IS MY HERD, MY FLOCK, AND MY PACK.

I'VE GOT A FRIEND NAMED DAVE FROM WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA, AND HIS FAMILY'S ON THAT HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD PLAQUE UP ON MACHINERY HILL OF FARMS.

AND DAVE SAID WHEN HE WAS A KID HE KNEW HE'D BE A FARMER BECAUSE WHEN OTHER KIDS WENT TO SLEEP HOLDING A TEDDY BEAR OR A BLANKET, DAVE COULDN'T GET TO SLEEP UNLESS HE WAS CLUTCHING AN EAR OF CORN.

AND DAVE ALSO TOLD ME HIS FARM FELL ON HARD TIMES AND HE'S HAD TO SELL OFF MOST OF THE ACREAGE, AND SO WHAT HE'S DONE IS HE STARTED, HE GOT A JOB IN TOWN AND HE'S CALLED HIS FARM HIS ART.

AND HE WROTE "TRACTOR" ON HIS TRACTOR AND "BARN" ON HIS BARN.

AND HE SAID, YEAH, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO HE PLOWED UP HIS ACREAGE AND PUT IN SUNFLOWERS AND HIS NEIGHBORS ARE GOING, WHY DID YOU DO THAT, DAVE?

THERE'S NO MONEY IN SUNFLOWERS.

AND DAVE SAYS BECAUSE I CAN'T PAINT LIKE VAN GOGH.

AND I SAID, DAVE, WHAT IS IT ABOUT SUNFLOWERS, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THEM?

AND HE SAYS I LOVE GOING OUT ON SUNNY DAYS AND I'LL STAND IN THE FIELD AND I'LL FOLLOW THEIR HEADS AS THEY FOLLOW THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY.

I SAID, DAVE, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT'S CLOUDY WHEN THERE'S NO SUN?

AND HE SAID THAT'S EVEN BETTER.

THAT'S WHEN THEY TURN AND FACE EACH OTHER.

AND I THOUGHT WHEN WE COME TO THE FAIR WE ALL BRING DIFFERENT WEIGHTS OF THE WORLD, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A RESPITE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR SAFE HARBOR FOR OUR SOULS.

AND WE FIND A HOME HERE, WHAT THE DAKOTA CALLED MAKHÓCHE.

L'ETOILE DU NORD, THE STAR OF THE NORTH.

AND WE ARE ITS CONSTELLATION.

EACH STAR A BIT OF LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS, AND EACH VOICE ANOTHER INSTRUMENT IN THE SILENCE.

>> KEVIN KLING, EVERYBODY!