If you’re a voter and looking for a rabble rousing good ol’ time, I have just the place for you. Kentucky’s hottest political event is Fancy Farm.
Started in 1880 as the summer picnic for St. Jerome Catholic Church in Maysfield, Kentucky, this still church picnic turned political circus has garnered national attention, attention this year surrounded by the Kentucky Senate race between Mitch McConnell and Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Stefon impressions aside, Fancy Farm is a beautiful mess. On one hand, you have a classic church picnic that includes a dunk booth, a large bingo game, and some of the best BBQ you will find in the area. But at 2 o’ clock, the tone change to a political one. On the ground of St. Jerome Catholic Church is one of the most important stops for Kentucky politicians on their way to a November elections.
As an avid people watcher, I was overjoyed. As I lover of church picnics, I was pleased. As a voter in this state and country, I was really taken aback by the chaos.
Let’s touch on a bit on what I saw and heard at Fancy Farm this past Saturday:
Signs
Women for Mitch
Come at me bro (depicted McConnell with outstretched arms)
Obama needs Alison Grimes. Kentucky need Mitch McConnell
Alison’s dilemma…be a devout Democrat or a real Catholic
Degrees not debt
Ditch Mitch
Teamsters support Alison
Use the constitution for toilet paper
Does not trust you with your own money
What would Jesus do? (turns out he would vote for Grimes)
Notables Making Appearances (just a few in a long list)
Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville
Archbishop Kurtz, archbishop of Louisville and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Steve Beshear, governor of Kentucky
Rand Paul, senator from Kentucky
Hal Heiner, who just announced his intention to run for Kentucky governor in 2015
James Comer, who announced his Kentucky governorial candidacy at Fancy Farm
Fancy Farm exclusive sights and quotes
Old men in Civil War soldier uniforms chanting “Hey hey ho ho illegal immigration has to go”
10 year olds being interviewed for a political race they can’t vote for
A fake political candidate named Honest Gil, who even had a bus and posters with his face on it
One McConnell supporter to another: “Did the Grimes people give you a hard time?”
One candidate’s parade that had few people watching but they still waved for the camera’s sake
Beshear taking a politically charged selfie with McConnell
Back and forth audience chant that can only remind you of a playground spat or West Side Story
Republican supporters dressed European modesl in coal miner outfits to display a Grimes campaign faux pas
To conclude, I could regale with strong words said by the nearly dozen people that stood at the podium Saturday, but I don’t think that’s why the event even exists. It’s not a debate. It’s hardly even a monologue. It’s a spectacle—to keep the fan bases happy, to maintain enthusiasm, to save face. (News is made more often by those politicians that don’t show up.)
Fancy Farm came to close once more (for the 134th time) with both sides pleased about their own candidate’s performance. How could they not, right? They made strong hand gestures, said words like job, jobs, and jobs, and raised their voices. Another year of success at Fancy Farm right?
