FANCY FARM, KY — It’s definitely not your typical picnic. It is, however, a tradition Fancy Farm proudly puts on each year. The 142nd Fancy Farm Political Picnic will take place on Saturday.
People who’ve traveled from near and far will fill up the pavilion as candidates give stump speeches. Helping organize the picnic is something Political Chair Steven Elder’s family has done for generations. This year they’re setting up without Elder’s father Joey, who passed away earlier this year.
“My family’s been involved with this picnic for, since 1880. So not having him here, not seeing him in the meat stand, which is where the Elders are traditionally at, very difficult, absolutely,” Elder said.
This year’s political speeches will include candidates from both sides of the aisle for the first time since 2019. In 2020, when the pandemic started, they didn’t have any speeches. In 2021, only Republican candidates attended the picnic.
“So you’ve got several gubernatorial candidates that are going to be on stage that maybe you didn’t have in the past. We do have two races, Sen. Paul and Charles Booker, then we have our congressman also has a race,” Elder said. “So we’ve got two active races, but then next year it’s kind of gearing up for the future. It’s always, ‘What’s the next couple years going to look like?’”
It’s not all about the politics and the mutton, though. Money raised benefits the St. Jerome Ministry. Elder said this year, raising money for a good cause hits closer to home.
“We helped out a lot during the tornado relief efforts, so we always want to give back. We will have a collection also at St. Jerome next weekend for the flood victims in eastern Kentucky. So this is a fundraising opportunity for the ministry of St. Jerome, and we certainly want to continue to support that,” Elder said.
The final preparations wrapped up on Friday. The political speeches will start under the pavilion at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
If you can’t make it to the picnic, but still want to watch the speeches, Local 6 plans to livestream them for you. That livestream will be available here on wpsdlocal6.com or on our Facebook page, WPSD-TV.