While Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, I spotted a plethora of promotional products on Groundhog Day.

That’s right, I convinced my wife that we should venture to Gobbler’s Knob — where Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog predicts either an early spring or six more weeks of winter — for her birthday. Truthfully, I’ve been itching to attend the storied event since college, when I heard it moonlighted as a humongous rager.

I can now attest that the spectacle is not only a doozy, but it’s also branded merch mania.

There were groundhog-themed sweatshirts, hoodies, beanies…and that was just on the bus ride up! 95.7 BEN FM, the local radio station sponsoring the trip, handed out logoed hats, and then trivia winners received stickers and other swag while we watched the Bill Murray classic throughout the six-hour trip.

At 4:30 a.m., when we finally arrived at Gobbler’s Knob, becoming part of what organizers called “the largest crowd ever,” there were promo products everywhere you turned. (I’d be remiss in not mentioning the sea of Philadelphia Eagles gear ahead of the “big game” on Sunday.) With tens of thousands of people drinking for hours, you probably expect the longest line to be for the porta potty.

Nope, it was for the souvenir shop – the holy grail of Punxsutawney Phil promo products.

It had everything: branded shirts, hats, scarves, mugs, lip balm, can coolers, beads, shot glasses, patches, pennants, bottle openers, Christmas tree ornaments, pencils, erasers, pins, straw toppers, keychains, even bags of coffee beans featuring Phil’s wife Phyllis’ favorite flavors!

In addition to the spectacular fireworks, raucous concert and 18-degree temperature, I marveled at the pride of the community. The locals have embraced Groundhog Day as their Super Bowl, welcoming folks from all over the world to enjoy everything their small town has to offer.

Of course, branded merch plays a key role. That’s why savvy distributors should capitalize on annual events like this throughout the country. Attendees want to immerse themselves in the experience, getting into the spirit with custom apparel before they arrive and commemorating the occasion with keepsakes so they can relive the day again and again and again.

And even though the crowd was disappointed to hear Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast of six more weeks of winter, I was relieved when he whispered in my ear, “Eagles by two. Go Birds.”