Fancy Farm

St. Jerome annual picnic is known as Fancy Farm across the Commonwealth.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Catholic picnic that's more than a century old is also deemed one of the top political stops each year.

St. Jerome Catholic Church picnic in Graves County is known by its community name, Fancy Farm, to thousands across the Commonwealth. 

The picnic offers the staples BBQ, games and comradery but Fancy Farm's quirk is its loud and rowdy political stump speeches.

With all eyes on the Governor’s Race – Governor Beshear is making his first fancy farm appearance since taking office. Beshear and his Republican opponent, Daniel Cameron, will face off head to head to make their case.

In 2020, political speeches were canceled. The following years Democrats have been scarce at the event. In 2021, Democrats countered the picnic with FancyVaxx, a COVID-19 vaccine event. Governor Beshear originally said he was expected to be away with family during Fancy Farm and later announced he will be attending.

Steven Elder coordinates the political candidates and said getting both Beshear and Cameron is a recipe for an interesting time.

"It's going to be exciting to see those fireworks kind of explode," he said.

Those in favor of either candidate stand on their respective sides of the audience when candidates take the stage. Heckling and signs are allowed from the attendees, some waiting at the pavilion for hours to secure their spot.

We asked Cameron about his Fancy Farm expectations at his Kentucky Farm Bureau stop last week -- where Beshear declined to attend.

"I look forward to being there at Fancy Farm with Andy Beshear. It's unfortunate he didn't show up to talk to our 75,000 farm families this morning, but that's a decision that they decided to make," he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Beshear said Wednesday he doesn't want to focus on divisiveness like his opponent.

"Fancy Farm is known for the zingers but it's still a church picnic. I want to make sure that while we get up there, we do our part to build on what Fancy Farm is. What you'll hear from me is what we've been doing, the track record that we have," he said.

Stump speeches start around 2 p.m. central time starting with state lawmakers who call Graves County home all the way to U.S. Representative James Comer, R-KY District 1.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been a regular to the picnic over the years but as of Friday his team hadn't confirmed his attendance. This comes after his health has been questioned, although he said he was fine after he stopped mid-sentence during a news conference last week.

Other expected Kentucky candidates include those running for Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General.

WDRB's Monica Harkins will be providing coverage from Fancy Farm. Tune in to WDRB News at 10 p.m. on Saturday for the back and forth from the picnic.

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.Â