Whether or not she’s a true blood-relation, Auntie Anne Beiler is every pretzel fanatic’s favorite aunt. That’s because Auntie Ann is the founder, with husband Jonas, of Auntie Anne’s pretzel company.

Tonight, August 17, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Auntie Anne will visit the Federated Church in Edgartown to talk about her journey, from humble beginnings to worldwide snack attack guru.

Her pretzel story began in 1988 when she and Jonas bought a small market stand in Pennsylvania with the idea of using the proceeds to provide free counseling services to folks in the community. But they were so good at making pretzels that the small market stand became a fixture throughout the world. There are currently more than 1,200 Auntie Ann’s Pretzel locations in 46 states and 23 countries. The company bakes over 500,000 pretzels every other day.

The event will, of course, include Auntie Anne’s story of her pretzel, rise but there will also be a twist. Recently Anne filmed a segment for ABC’s The Secret Millionaire, so get set for stories about what she learned by relinquishing her regular lifestyle to live among those less fortunate, only revealing her true identity later.

Free will offering.