Photos and Summary By Nathan Britt
The Wakefield Ruritan Club has been holding the Shad Planking annually since the 1940’s. They put on this event to raise money for the club and the local baseball teams. They smoke shad, a kind of fish, on wooden planks in the Native American tradition and serve it with catered food from the Virginia Diner.
Since its inception, the Shad Planking has been a political event, with candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Senate, and the House of Representatives regularly appearing to garner support for their campaigns. Both candidates for Governor were invited to speak this year but only Republican Ken Cuccinelli took the offer. All Republican candidates for statewide offices attended this year, while there was very low Democratic presence.