The Shad Planking is an annual political event in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

which takes place every April near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

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 Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

about 30 miles to the southeast. Ostensibly an event to celebrate the James River running of

shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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.

History

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 Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
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 Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after the Isle of Wight, England, south of the Solent, from where many of its early colonists had come. As of the 2020 census, t ...

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. With Dr. Nettles' suggestion and help, th
Wakefield Ruritan Club
later adopted this time honored tradition as an annual community and fund raising function in 1949. The event has been held on the third Wednesday in April each year ever since to herald the arrival of spring, with attendance increasing in size from the original 300 guests to over 2000 today. The site is the wooded property of a sportsmen's club near U.S. Route 460 near the incorporated town of

in Sussex County, about an hour southeast of the Virginia State Capitol at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

. Originally a purely social affair, it soon gained a political function, a development credited to State Senator Garland Gray, a local lumberman. In its early years, Democratic party bosses used the Shad Planking (event) as an opportunity to select the next governor.

Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

and the Byrd Organization dominated Virginia politics into the 1960s. In his 1977 novel, "The Shad Treatment," legal scholar, novelist, and journalist Garrett Epps called the event "a yearly gathering of the white men in Southside irginia-- no blacks, no women allowed -- where the shirt-sleeve politicians . . . gathered to look over the political leadership." That has changed and all are welcome now. Many think that in 1977, then-state State Senator L. Douglas Wilder (D) became the first black to attend. Also that year,

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

reporter Megan Rosenfeld was the first woman to attend. Over the years, the gathering has evolved into a political gossip festival—a place for candidates to see and be seen and for the curious to speculate about the likely winners and losers of the year's coming campaign season. As Virginia became more Republican after the decline of the Byrd Organization, by the late 20th century, the event became dominated by Republicans. In recent years, especially as the Republicans lost power again after the gubernatorial administration of Jim Gilmore, the Shad Planking has seen substantial representation by all parties, including the Libertarian Party.

Recent events

2005

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore and his Democratic opponent Tim Kaine spoke at the 2005 Shad Planking. Virginia State Senator Russ Potts was not allowed to speak, so his supporters passed out stickers, "Let Russ Speak". Potts had a bluegrass band "Lagerhead" from Winchester play at his tent. "Go Russ Go" Pott's campaign song was played live at the Shad Planking.

2006

The featured speaker was

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convi ...

2007

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, wearing a Virginia Tech tie, was the main speaker. The colors of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

were on display, with many attendees wearing Virginia Tech hats and t-shirts, since the event occurred two days after the Virginia Tech massacre. Rather than giving a political speech, Bolling focused on the events at Virginia Tech. Bolling's son graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006.

2008

The 60th annual shad planking was held on April 16, the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre and coincided with the reconvened session of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

. The featured speakers were the candidates for Virginia's open U.S. Senate seat, Mark Warner, the Democratic candidate, and Republican contenders Del.

Robert G. Marshall Robert Gerald Marshall (born May 3, 1944) is an American businessman, author and former politician, who was a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 13th District. His district included portions of Prince Will ...

and former governor Jim Gilmore. Each candidate opened with comments on the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Warner spoke of bipartisan cooperation and pledged to become a "radical centrist" if elected. Marshall, who was facing Gilmore for the Republican Party nomination, emphasized his conservative voting record and strong stance against

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constitutin ...

. He also highlighted his role leading the legal challenge to the regional transportation authorities in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. Gilmore emphasized his connection to

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

and Warner's connection to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. He characterized Warner as an untrustworthy, "tax-and-spend" liberal who wanted to set a withdrawal date for the war in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

2009

Wet weather early in the day cleared up before start time but there was a smaller than expected crowd. The featured speakers were the 2009 candidates for governor: Republican Bob McDonnell and Democratic contenders

Brian Moran Brian Joseph Moran (born September 9, 1959) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as Virginia Secretary of Public Safety from 2014 to 2022, and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1996 until 20 ...

and Terry McAuliffe.

2010

Because of a light rain continuing almost up to time for the speeches to start, the crowd was small. The featured speaker was former United States Senator and former Governor of Virginia George Allen.
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2012

An April 20 editorial in The Roanoke Times noted the event's lack of Democrats, but said that didn't mean it was dead: "The only debate possible is over exactly which year the Shad Planking went too far. Was it 2005, when a campaign worker in a duck costume was escorted off the premises by police after complaints that he was being disorderly? Or 2009, when former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe hogged the camera after spotting a crew from the ''Sean Hannity Show''? No matter which theory you believe, most everyone agrees that Virginia's bony little shad long ago

jumped the shark The idiom "jumping the shark" was coined in 1985 by Jon Hein in response to a 1977 episode from the fifth season of the American sitcom ''Happy Days'', in which Fonzie (Henry Winkler) jumps over a shark while on water-skis. The phrase is pejo ...

." 2016 2016 brings three major changes to the event: * The introduction the Grapes and Grains Festival - a showcase of Virginia's best wines * The creation of the Presidential Straw Poll - a fun and newsworthy way for Virginia to help shape the national political landscape * The event day is moved from the 3rd Wednesday in April to the following Friday. In 2016, it is on Friday, April 22.

References

External links

Official websiteThe Shad Plank
a political blog at the '' Daily Press''