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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 originally 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. ==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 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. With Dr. Nettles' suggestion and help, the (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 Wakefield in Sussex County, about an hour southeast of the Virginia State Capitol at Richmond. 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. 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 () -- 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 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shad Planking」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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