Yes, it's super weird. And it completely captures the zeitgeist of 21st century 'merica. (So maybe not that weird?) First and foremost, it's a conflagration of all the state's major political players, who either have to show up to run the gauntlet or they can risk avoiding the event and likely be excoriated by the opposition for their absence. What makes it fairly unique as political theater is that most everyone present is forced to deliver to an audience that is a combustible stew of highly charged partisans from both sides, only a thin buffer of a giddy media in the middle. All the big incumbents are pilloried by disapproving and chanting opposition. And everyone panders to God, country, flag, and tradition. As a nonreligious resident who had the audacity to lack Kentucky roots and even be educated at a reviled school (for sports reasons -- the most important reasons) in North Carolina, I personally enjoyed resounding disapproval from all camps. Nothing of real substance is shared. Nobody's mind is changed. Hopefully the peace is kept. And the locals quietly play bingo a few yards away while all the political junkies fry their vocal folds. The backdrop couldn't be more perfect. The politicians get to glorify the yeoman myth of the rural entrepreneur in the shadow of a small town church steeple, surrounded by smoking meat, bingo games, church raffles, and automobiles parked on every free square inch. There's an extra star up there for the mutton sandwich. Someone out here knows a thing or two about smoking meats. The pork BBQ is excellent too, but go with the mutton for the novelty of it. The biggest surprise for me may have been the fact that it's not very commercialized, perhaps a consequence of this event being so far from any population center. Sodas and ice cream can be purchased for $1 for cryin' out loud. Ultimately, the event is a mix of fascinating and soul-crushing. Any solution to what ails American democracy won't be provided here. In light of that, I have a couple of very modest suggestions to the organizers: - For the love of God, invite an actual comedian here. Kentucky politicians are not themselves good at roasting each other and they can't afford good speechwriters. Comedy is hard, and most of the speeches given are hard evidence of that fact. - Offer a veggie, please! Even if it's swimming in bacon, it would be nice to have something alongside that mutton sandwich. The only veggie option I saw here today was Lay's potato chips (regular or bbq), despite the fact that this event is held in the dead of summer, when local produce should be at its peak. If you all love your farmers as much as the rhetoric suggests, you'd acknowledge them by bolstering someone other than the pig and sheep farmer. It's good for you and it tastes better than socialized medicine. read more

Full disclosure, I work in politics. My family has deep roots in it. I am really into state and national politics all around. Going to Fancy Farm is going to make me giddy like a little kid. It is like Graceland for Kentucky political nerds. Everything I heard about it was true. There was booing and howling. People got into it with each other. Jabs and jokes at every politician running was brought up. Reporters were everywhere. People that loved their candidates were not shy about voicing their opinions. It was not uncommon to see groups get into it with each other. Entertaining to say the least, not to mention some good people watching. The food was not bad either. It was very fairly priced (bottle water was a 1$, two scopes of ice cream on a cone was 2$). Obviously, I tried the BBQ. I had mutton to be exact. It was not bad, but I will always prefer pork. There were several booths, Time Warner handed out free water which was a great gift during the heat. You could play tabs or 5 card showdown poker. There was even a photo booth. I would not mind traveling to Fancy Farm. Something to see and I marked it off my bucket list. read more

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My husband (Ryan C) was the first to review the picnic-I know, can you believe there was not already a review of the Fancy Farm Picnic? He grew up in the area and his review gives you the history of how this picnic came to be. I'm going to give you the outsiders point of view. First off, I could not care less about the political speaking. If I were interested in politics, I would be of the wrong political party here anyway. In spite of the politics, this is a great not-so-little picnic. Anyone who is from a small town probably remembers some sort of annual event that everyone in the community attended. You waited all year for it come around. There was an excitement in the air. This is that event. People with any ties in the community come back. The events kick off on Friday night with a catfish fry. It's a good time to head to the picnic grounds and see the smokers working on the 19,000 pounds of pork and mutton (believe it or not, it actually sells out by early evening most years). The actual picnic is on Saturday. You can wait in line for an all-you-can eat barbecue dinner complete with the best side dishes and desserts all made by locals, or buy sandwiches and other food throughout the day at the booths. In addition to the political speaking, there is music, games for the kids, bingo for the adults, a raffle for a new car, and plenty of lamenting about the heat and humidity. The picnic starts late morning and ends about 10 pm. If you live in Fancy Farm, you are unlikely reading this review if the internet service is half as bad as the cell phone service, but if you're anywhere in the area (Nashville or Memphis or parts of Kentucky), you might make the trip sometime. It's pretty cool. read more

Once a year a little town in Western Kentucky with a population around 1,500 people called Fancy Farm explodes into an industrious flurry of activity and mass work with the express purpose of hosting the world's largest picnic and barbecue. The 2008 menu consisted of 19,000 lbs of pork and mutton barbecue, 5,600 pieces of chicken, 750 lbs of potato salad, 160 lbs of lima beans, 140 gallons of corn, 144 lbs of green beans, and 96 lbs of peas along massive amounts of hamburgers, ice cream, a veritable river of sweet tea, and enough desserts to take a stab at rotting each and every sweet tooth from your head. Amid the fabulous festival of southern style food at the Picnic is a seemingly never-ending bingo game with tons of prizes, a menagerie of games for the kiddies, and the time honored tradition of several hours of old style southern political speaking complete with candidates jibing one another (mudslinging) amidst the occasionally costumed hecklers chiming in from the audience with their own brand of brilliance or madness interpreted based on your political persuasion. The political facet of the Picnic is powered by the Kentucky folklore that anyone that is anyone in Kentucky politics who misses their chance to speak at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic simply doesn't get elected. The tradition of the Fancy Farm Picnic started in 1880 when in the Mayfield Monitor there appeared the following notice: "There will be a barn dance, picnic and 'gander pulling' at Fancy Farm next Thursday. Those that have never seen the latter should turn out on this occasion. It will be interesting." And 128 years later, on the first Saturday of every August it still proves to be an interesting and lively event. read more