The World’s Largest Picnic And Barbecue Is Right Here In Kentucky And You’ll Want To Visit
By Andrea Limke|Published April 28, 2017
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Andrea Limke
Author
A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. After earning an education degree and working in that field for a number of years, Andrea began to pursue her passion for writing over 6 years ago. Since then she has written for a number of print and online publications, as well as published a children's book.
There are countless places throughout Kentucky to enjoy a nice quiet picnic. But one small town in Graves County has aspired to much more. Since 1881, the Fancy Farm Picnic has been feeding and entertaining the masses and in recent years officially became the “World’s Largest Picnic.” It’s a can’t-miss event for locals but also worth a day trip to experience this timeless tradition in epic proportions.
For more than 130 years, this small town in Kentucky has come together to socialize, entertain and eat. According to author, Mrs. Robert L. Spaulding, in the Mayfield Monitor of July 31, 1880, the following notice appeared: "There will be a barn dance, picnic and ‘gander pulling’ at Fancy Farm next Thursday. Those that have never seen the latter should turn out on this occasion. It will be interesting." And turn out they did and have continued to do so ever since.
The Fancy Farm Picnic is well known for its sheer size of food consumption but it is also famous for the political speaking. Any politician in Kentucky, from Governors to Senators, make an appearance as a part of their campaign. It's a rite of passage as a politician in the Bluegrass State.
But the main attraction at the picnic remains the food. In the 1980's, Graves County resident Bill Erwin realized that the world record for the "World's Largest Picnic" was held by a gathering in Florida that consumed 6,000 pounds of meat. Knowing that Fancy Farm goers ate much more than that, he wrote to the Guinness Book of World Records. The 15,000 pound meat consumption put Fancy Farm at the top and today they serve over 18,000 pounds of pork, mutton and chicken.
Fancy Farm and all of Graves County are quite proud of their barbecue, as they should be. The community rallies together to pull off this massive job of cooking up literally tons of food.
Cynthia Elder/Graves County
Along with the mouth watering meat, you'll find over 193 gallons of corn, 258 pounds of green beans and 1900 pounds of potato salad! It's a gigantic picnic in a small town of only 458 residents within its limits.
Cynthia Elder/Graves County
Because it's a picnic after all, you'll also find classic games, activities and entertainment. But witnessing the barbecue itself is reason enough to visit the "World's Largest Picnic," right here in Kentucky. Make plans to attend on August 5th; Fancy Farm will be glad you came and so will you.
The Fancy Farm Picnic is a Kentucky tradition and one for the record books. Have you attended the picnic? How was the barbecue?! Let us know in the comments below! And for more info on this year’s upcoming picnic on August 5th, 2017, visit their website here.
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