If you’ve missed the commercials, trailers and glossy magazine coverage of “Eat, Pray, Love” — the movie starring Julia Roberts as gelato-loving author Elizabeth Gilbert on a global trek for inner peace — then you’ve probably spent the summer floating up north in the lake.

In which case, you’ve probably already experienced enlightenment.

But if you’re among the millions of readers who lived vicariously through Gilbert’s best-selling book or those who flocked to the film for the scenery (and by that I mean Javier Bardem), you’re familiar with the story. Gilbert spent four months in Italy in pursuit of beauty and gastronomical pleasure, four months in India meditating in pursuit of God and four months in Bali, where she found love.

Since taking a year off to eat spaghetti and meditate wasn’t in my budget, I decided to look for excellent food, God and love closer to home. Where better than the Great Minnesota Get-Together? Related Articles Marchers shut down I-94 through St. Paul to protest Breonna Taylor decision

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Eat is a no-brainer. Gilbert gained 23 pounds in four months in Italy. I could easily do that in one week at the State Fair, starting with the new corn-dog pizza, moving right along to the deep-fried pickles and so on. With honey lemonade in between for palate cleansing. Walk around the Fairgrounds for a few minutes and you’ll see many happy noshers who’ve achieved success in this area.

Now on to devotion and love.

If you’ve ever watched someone dive into a bucket of Sweet Martha’s cookies, you know the distinctions between food, worship, and love aren’t nearly as clear at the Fair as they are in Gilbert’s book.

Nevertheless, I began my spiritual journey at Crossroads Chapel. On a steamy Sunday morning, I joined about 50 worshippers who sat inside or on the patio fanning themselves during the morning service. It was hot, like in India.

Dora Spilde of Casselton, N.D., has been coming to the chapel for 40-plus years. “Since it was just a bus parked here,” Spilde says.

Karen and Paul Prehatney of Arden Hills come to the Fair about six times a year, and for the past 25 years have begun their Sunday at the Fair with worship.

“We tell our pastor — he’s cool with it,” Karen says.

“It’s nice to see people from other churches here — people from all over stopping by,” Paul adds.

After an hour or so, the minister enjoined us all to “Go and love the Lord, and eat something on a stick.”

I learned from Gilbert that finding God takes discipline, so instead of heading toward the Food Building, I continued my pursuit. But where?

Typical of the Fair, there’s an abundance of choices: There’s a nondenominational meditation area between the 4H and Education buildings, ecumenical services at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell, Catholic mass on the Family Fair Stage and a yoga practice near the Torpedo ride.

I decided to look for God in an unexpected place: the Art Building. I meditated on a wood art piece depicting The Last Supper and the award-winning “God in the House of Mirrors.” And I ran into Kerri Meyer and Jen Blecha. They had just had their hair sprayed and glittered into an eye-catching flaming red tornado and cool blue spikes, respectively. “Even though we’re a bit older than the average 6-year-old in line at Fair-Do’s,” Jen says, laughing.

Like a lot of us, Kerri and Jen have some special traditions at the Fair.

“We always start the day at 7 a.m., at the Salem Lutheran Church booth for French toast and coffee,” says Kerri, “with people who love the Fair. We bond with other couples. We start the day by getting to know complete strangers. We form a community of strangers.” Related Articles Woodward’s ‘Rage’ sells 600,000 copies in first week

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Kerri pointed out that the word “worship,” means “shaping something of worth.” That’s everywhere at the Fair, she says. And it’s true, from the kids shampooing their sheep’s ears at the animal barns to Donna Clark’s gigantic hand-knitted fish hat to the high school bands marching in the heat, belting out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,” examples of devotion are everywhere.

The Fair, in fact, helped to shape their relationship. Kerri never misses the Fair, but a few years ago, Jen had moved to San Francisco to begin a new job just days before the Fair began. Kerry went to the Fair by herself and sent photos from her camera phone: “Now I’m looking at jam. Now I’m looking at the honey bees.” She waited in line to ride the Ferris wheel, only to find out there were no single riders allowed. She took a picture of the sign and sent it to Jen, who sent her a photo, a few hours later, of the plane ticket she had just purchased so they could ride the wheel together. And the rest is history.

As for me, I didn’t find love. But I did find young shirtless cowboys handing out free copies of Harlequin’s “Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch.” A cowboy named Austin Aries told me he figures they give out about 8,000 books a day.

“We’ve been told there’s not enough romance in it,” he says, “but page 194 is pretty steamy.”

Shannon Olson is the Minnesota author of “Welcome to My Planet” and “Children of God Go Bowling.”