Shad Planking

The Shad Planking is an annual political event in Virginia which takes place every April near Wakefield in Sussex County. It is sponsored by a chapter of the Ruritans, a community service organization which was founded in the small town of Holland about 30 miles to the southeast.

Ostensibly an event to celebrate the James River running of shad, at a shad planking, the oily, bony fish are smoked for the occasion on wood planks over an open flame. The events held near Wakefield began after World War II, and were long a function of the state's Conservative Democrats, whose political machine dominated Virginia politics for about 80 years from the late 19th century until the 1960s.

However, both Virginia and the Shad Planking had evolved into a more bipartisan environment by the 1980s. In modern times, would-be candidates, reporters, campaign workers, and locals gather to eat shad, drink beer, smoke tobacco, and kick off the state's electoral season with lighthearted speeches by politicians in attendance.

Sponsored by the Wakefield Ruritan Club, Shad Planking serves as the organizations primary fundraising event for the year. All of the funds raised from the event are invested within the Wakefield Community and support such community organizations as baseball teams, the fire department, and other groups.

The name "The Shad Plank" was adopted by the political blog of the Daily Press newspaper based in Newport News.

The traditional event was originally a tribute to the start of the fishing season. The planking dates to the 1930s near Smithfield, Virginia, beginning as a small gathering of friends to celebrate the James River running of shad—the oily, bony fish smoked for the occasion on wood planks over an open flame. The unique shad cooking technique that is enjoyed today traces its roots to Mr. Paul Cox, of Surry County, Virginia. Mr. Cox, along with several Ruritans including Dr. E.C. Nettles and Mr. Richard Savedge, invited twenty-five of their friends to historic Wrenn's Mill in Isle of Wight County, Virginia for their first Shad Planking. Having attended similar functions in the deep South, Mr. Cox introduced the group to the intriguing process of cooking 15 shad they had caught earlier in the day from the James River on hardwood planks over an open fire.

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Wikipedia