We all know about Philadelphia’s love of cheesesteaks, but how about pickles?

Apparently, the City of Brotherly Love has an affinity for the salty snack, as evidenced by the 54,000 people on Facebook “interested” in attending Pickledelphia – the city’s first large-scale pickle festival. There will be fried pickles, pickle egg rolls, pickle ice cream, pickle brine fried chicken, pickle pizza and any other wacky food combination you can imagine.  

The unique event has garnered so much social media buzz that Digital Force Agency, the local marketing firm behind the event, has launched an online swag store. Merchandise includes various pickle and Philadelphia-themed T-shirts, socks, caps, lanyards, mugs, shot glasses and a foam finger.

“Pickles are the hottest food in 2018, and it isn’t going to stop here,” DFA cofounder Kevin Baxter told Billy Penn. “Pickles are a lifestyle, and we’re going to pickle out everybody.”

Baxter’s agency has experience hosting unusual, hyper-niche events. In April, the firm produced the Philadelphia Beard Festival, which attracted such positive reception that the event has expanded to Baltimore. According to Baxter, the next step in capitalizing on Philly’s pickle fandom will be rolling out merchandise all year long, such as pickle jammies for Christmas.

“At heart, we are a creative branding agency. We developed Pickledelphia as a culture for pickle lovers. From our merch, our custom videos and the event itself, we dedicated countless hours to make this special,” DFA posted on the event’s Facebook page.

Originally scheduled for September 9, Pickledelphia was postponed due to high winds and heavy rain moving up the East Coast from Hurricane Florence. Now the event is scheduled to take place on October 14 at The Piazza at Schmidt’s Commons in Northern Liberties.

VIP tickets are sold out. They include early entry, an “I Love Pickles” bracelet, free samples from pickle vendors, a bag of pickle-flavored chips and a free keepsake picture at the pickle display. Only $15 general admission tickets remain.