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There are more than 80 food items served on-a-stick at the Minnesota State Fair.

Now, fairgoers can add a freebie to that list.

Use these guides to explore the fair

Well, sort of.

Visitors to the Star Tribune booth (find it on Carnes Avenue at Clough Street, in front of the grandstand ramp) can pick up a free tube of "Stick" flavored lip balm. While supplies last, of course.

Free lip balm -- in summertime, fair-themed flavors -- is a Star Tribune fair tradition. Previous incarnations have spotlighted the wonders of bacon, mini-donuts, ketchup, mustard and fresh-cut grass.

No word on whether then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt's famous "Speak softly and carry a big stick" speech -- delivered at the Minnesota State Fair's Grandstand on Sept. 2, 1901 -- had anything to do with this year's "Stick" theme.

The Minnesota State Fair opens Aug. 24th and runs through Sept. 4.