Photo: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear greets the crowd at the 2019 Fancy Farm Picnic. Shannon McFarlin photo.
Fancy Farm, Ky.–Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has announced he will not attend this year’s Fancy Farm Picnic as the list of speakers is firming up.
An update from organizers Friday confirmed that Beshear will not be at the Saint Jerome Church on August 3. Beshear has attended the picnic once (last year) as sitting Governor and attended when he was a candidate for Governor against Gov. Matt Bevins. Beshear’s decline to participate comes as he gains national attention.
The parish picnic is held on the first Saturday of August every year in Fancy Farm, Kentucky. This event draws national attention and politicians and the picnic provides a day of fellowship, food, and activities for all ages. The day includes BBQ pork and mutton, old-fashioned political speeches, fish fry, bingo, games for kids, car giveaway, a 5K run/walk and more.
Among those who have confirmed they will attend are Republican U.S. Congressman James Comer and his opponent Erin Marshall.
Invitations to Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, the Republican Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams and Republican U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are still pending.
Others confirmed for this year’s picnic include the following:
- Kentucky’s Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman
- Kentucky’s Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell
- Kentucky State Sen. Jason Howell, a Murray Republican
- Outgoing Kentucky State Rep. Richard Heath, a Mayfield Republican
- Representative Elect Kim Holloway
- GOP Kentucky State Rep. Suzanne Miles of Owensboro
- Democratic Kentucky State Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington
- Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Payne Jones
Over the course of 140 years, the Fancy Farm Picnic has become a Kentucky politics highlight.