Southwest Virginia Democrats

What is the Shad Planking, you ask?

From Wikipedia:

Shad planking is a political event that takes place in Wakefield, Virginia once every four years where would-be candidates, reporters, campaign workers, and locals gather to eat shad, drink beer, and kick off the state’s electoral season with lighthearted speeches by politicians in attendance.

The traditional event was originally a tribute to the start of the fishing season. However, it soon gained a political function, and in 1949 came under the control of the Wakefield Ruritan Club. In its early years, Democratic party bosses used shad planking as an opportunity to select the next governor. However, the event soon became dominated by Republicans, and has only recently seen substantial representation by both parties.

Shad planking is marked by characteristic sign wars between opposing campaigns, in which campaign workers cover the surrounding area with tens of thousands of signs ranging in size from yard-variety to 4 by 8 foot billboards. Indeed, the sign wars are so tied to the event that the term “shad planking” has become occupational slang for high density sign deployment.

Anyone from Southwest Virginia heading over to Wakefield for this event?