Philly Italian festival will grease poles this year

👋 Hey, Mike here! I have a confession to make: I was hoodwinked by AI.

What happened: Philly's Italian Market Instagram page recently posted that the pole-climbing competition at this year's festival was ditching the grease for tomato sauce.

• "🍝 Hope you're ready for the first-ever Gravy Pole Climb at the Italian Market Festival! 😂🍅" the organizers wrote in the post, which was accompanied by a convincing image of the famous pole slathered in tomato sauce.

Reality check: It was an April Fool's joke and the image was AI-generated.

🤦 Yes, but: I didn't discover this until I connected with the festival organizers.

What they're saying: Griffie Clark, the festival's production manager, assured me the grease awaits would-be pole-climbers this year.

• "The pole remains to be greased!" she said.

If you go: The festival is May 17-18.