The Ohio State Fair and residents of Columbus embraced the Inspiration Tour whole-heartedly as 22,753 guests visited the Kodak pavilion and consistently told us we had "the best photo spots at the fair!"

A little girl with her heart set on the 2016 Olympic Games, perhaps? Actually, this little girl had been feeling sad all week because her older sister won a medal recently in a swimming competition but she was too young to participate.  Her parents had visited on an earlier day and came back just to bring her in to take a picture on the Olympic podium with the medal so she would cheer up. We took several shots and the little girl was so excited to wear the medal! We even cheered for her when she put her arms up - very cute.

A couple of young boys amazed by the wall of digital frames? Absolutely! These three little boys were quite rambunctious and could hardly stand still for the picture. While their mother was at the print station, we led them over to the digital frame wall and they were completely mesmerized. Literally, they did not move from that spot until their mother came and took them by the hand to leave.

Finally, a sweet young girl longing for her first digital camera ... with fashion accessories, of course!  These are just a few of the Kodak moments captured at the Ohio State Fair.

If you have not had the pleasure of visiting the tour yet, I want you to understand the experience so you can fully appreciate the comments that follow.  As guests enter the Inspiration Tour pavilion, they immediately immerse themselves in life-like settings - driving the No. 12 KODAK DODGE in a NASCAR race, posing with life-sized Disney characters in Cinderella's Castle or receiving a gold medal on an Olympic podium. They receive a memory card from the Kodak tour staff and capture their photos using one of the new Kodak digital cameras.  One woman told us, ""My kids could not wait to get in here and see this. They saw the NASCAR through the door and would not leave me alone until I brought them in. Little did I know I would learn something about digital cameras while the kids posed for a picture." Another guest said, "Thanks for giving us the opportunity to use these cameras and show us what a digital camera can do. Going to the store is always a waste of time because they talk to us like we are rocket scientists. This was great and I really love the cameras."

Once our guests have taken a great photo, they proceed to the Digital Printing and Digital Frames area where they can print their photo at one of three printing areas including Kodak All-in-One (AiO) Printers, Printer Docks, and Picture Kiosks and display their image on the new Kodak Digital Picture Frame.Printing is always a BIG hit at every tour stop and Ohio was no exception. In total, 34,135 photos were printed and people were thrilled with the results!We love that you call the prints from the All-in-One printers "lab quality photos" vs. something else. It's easy to understand and looks to be very true."When a Spanish-speaking couple was having trouble using the Picture Kiosk, our team of Kodak Ambassadors quickly set it to their language and they were very happy with how it worked and how it worked for them!  Time after time guests tell us, "I never thought I would actually use one of these machines (Picture Kiosk). I see them everywhere and don't even think twice about using it. I will now for sure."Finally, a couple shared a wonderful story with us about the Kodak Printer Dock they purchased for their son. "We sent one of these to our son overseas to be able to print pictures and send back to us since he does not really have e-mail access. We love it and from what he says, his friends there love it too because he is always asking for more ribbon and paper. Thanks Kodak, you have made our lives a little better with this printer or at least a little less worrisome!"

Finally, our guests conclude the tour by visiting the Kodak Gallery and Custom Creations Software area. The new software was very well received.One guest told us, "Its about time there is a program like Custom Creations. My daughter and I love to get creative with the picture projects we send out to the family. We are going to have some fun with this!"Another said, "Kodak is giving us something new to make it easy to play with our pictures. This software is great! I'm going to download it from Kodak.com as soon as I get home."

Thank you Columbus, OH.  The Ohio State Fair was our biggest event yet!  We enjoyed our visit and now we're rolling down the road to "Kodak country" in upstate New York as the Inspiration Tour makes a stop at the NY State Fair in Syracuse next week.

We're thrilled to be taking the tour to Syracuse and look forward to the opportunity to host attendees at the fair from across the great state of New York and many of our own Kodak family from nearby Rochester!  Please come back to see more photos and hear behind the scenes stories from people we have had the privilege to inspire!

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