I know it is Shameless Self Promotion...

...but hey, it's the Ham & Yam Festival.


Presidential Candidates Clinton, Obama, and McCain
Invited To Attend 2008 Ham & Yam Festival

Smithfield NC – With the resurgence of Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, getting the nod to lead the Democratic Party into November against John McCain is like a “greased pig” that neither candidate can seem to grasp.

The state of North Carolina now looks to be the site of a possible political showdown between the Democratic presidential heavyweights. To assist the candidates in getting their message to the masses, the Ham & Yam Festival has invited the presidential candidates from both parties to attend the event, which takes place the weekend prior to the May 6, North Carolina primary.

“What better place to talk about the future and direction of this great nation, and ‘pork barrel’ projects, than in Smithfield, North Carolina at the annual Ham & Yam Festival,” states Chris Johnson, Executive Director of the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation and host organization of the annual town celebration. “As a political junkie, I questioned why wouldn’t a candidate want to visit our festival to gather support and bring home the bacon.”

In 2007, the two-day event attracted over 25,000 people. This year, provided good weather, organizers anticipate an even larger crowd due to an increased marketing campaign, and a great entertainment lineup that features the Marshall Tucker Band performing at the free Saturday night concert at 8:30PM.

In the e-mail invitation to the presidential campaigns, Johnson reminded them that local Democratic and Republican parties will have informational booths for local, state, and national candidates at the festival. “All candidates are more than welcome to ‘work the crowds’ and eat plenty of the best ham biscuits and Eastern BBQ they will ever taste!” Johnson said.

While none of the campaigns have responded, optimism is high in Downtown Smithfield that a visit may be possible with both Clinton and Obama in the triangle area attending the annual Democratic Jefferson-Jackson dinner on the Friday night before the weekend festival.

“At the local downtown coffee shop, I told my buddies a couple of days ago of my invitations to the candidates,” continued Johnson. “Skeptical that none of the national figures would show, they responded with the predictable ‘When Pigs Fly’ bit. But you never know: Even a blind pig finds corn now and then.”

Always prepared, Johnson claims that if all the national candidates show up, the stage and microphones will be ready if that want to go head-to-head in a true debate.

“As the race tightens up, and as it gets closer to the conventions, I anticipate more mudslinging,” predicted Johnson. “Here in Smithfield and at the Ham & Yam Festival, we won’t have any of that. We live a little higher on the hog.”

For more information about the 2008 Ham & Yam Festival or the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation Development Corporation, please visit www.downtownsmithfield.com.

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I think that's wonderful that you invited them.

Johnson reminded them that local Democratic and Republican parties will have informational booths for local, state, and national candidates at the festival


What day will the parties be there at their informational booths?


Oh... tell your naysayers, that I actually saw a pig FLY, so they may just come! (It was a cartoon, but hey, it still was a flying pig!:mrgreen

 

The GOP booth is scheduled for Saturday only. The Democratic booth is scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday!

Crazier things have happened!

 

hahaha i love the way you "interviewed" yourself...and then refer to yourself in the third person..."johnson stated"...yer a nut

imho, hillary would be stupid to miss this opportunity. obama is up by 15 or 20 points here, and if she wants to close the gap, this is the kind of thing she's going to have to show up for

 

I can see her now chewing on a turkey leg ! HA HA HA !

 

I think she's going to be in the area for the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, so why not?

 

Only you would pick up on that! Kind of like the Senfeld seg when George started referring to himself in the 3rd person. Thanks for the chuckle. I will make sure they walk past the NCS booth and shake your hand!

 

Just gotta know...

Is there a plant for Smithfield Ham in Smithfield, NC? Only reason I'm asking is because of all the ham references I've seen. I know that the home of the company is in Smithfield, VA. My husband's good friend grew up there and still lives there--the high school team was called the Packers and there are regular reports of pig trucks overturning. Everything is ham and pig related over there too.

Pardon my ignorance on this one...I don't live in the area just yet.

 

The Smithfield "question/connection" comes up a lot here in the area...so it is no big and will be glad to explain.

There is the big Smithfield Foods processing plant that is located in the town of Tarheel, which is in Bladen County. (75 miles east of us here.) It has nothing to do with Smithfield "NC" but is associated with Smithfield "VA" and their meat packing plant there. Which is named Smithfield Foods. We do have, and proudly so, "Johnston County Hams" located in Downtown Smithfield, but that is small family owned business that "cures" country hams.

Community leaders has discussed the need to address our image when "Smithfield Foods" was running their ad campaign due to bad press and union issues at their Tarheel plant. Unfortunately they ran their campaign out of the Triangle media market and a TON of folks think it is related to us here in Smithfield NC.

 

Smithfield also has Stevens, Carolina Packers/Brightleaf and probably more....

there's good reason for the "ham" part of "ham n yam"

 

Now for the benefit of folks who "ain't from around here," can you explain the difference between country ham and that other kind?

 

Steven and Carolina Packers are probably better known for their hotdogs...which they make on site. The hams they sale come in from other places. I believe they just package them at the location and then sell them with their brand...or so I have been told. Carolina Packers is a HUGE supporter of the H&Y so please buy all the hotdogs you can!

Grandma... Country Ham is cured with salt. There is also smoked Ham. I believe there is another type of process. The type of ham that is sold....like spiral ham or like at the Honey Baked ham.

 

Salt cured... yummy.

 

That would be, specifically, red hot dogs, right? 8)

 

Yes, but it really is NOT a hot dog if its not carolina packers. Country ham is the only ham I will eat. I am most likely gonna die from high blood pressure( not yet but I can see it happenin when I get older)

 

You have got to love red hot dogs that come in a bag!

 

country ham don't need to go in the refrigerator, the other kind does

some salt cured hams are hung, others are buried in the ground

you can only make redeye gravy from country ham

country ham, when cooked properly, can never be described using the word "squishy"


the word "y'all" is spelled y'all, not ya'll. it is a contraction. like all contractions, the apostrophe takes the place of the letters taken out. in this case, the "ou" have been removed, so the apostrophe goes between the y and the a. furthermore, it is never used to address a single individual, unless you are a non-southerner in a movie pretending to be southern

woops, i got carried away...

 

LOL You crack me up! I spell Ya'll like that hehehehe! If I spelled it like I say it, it be drug out to long.

 

Actually, that one I do know.

Country ham is salt cured and then honey ham is sugar cured. Being that my relatives were from North Carolina and Tennessee, I grew up on country ham. My new inlaws (from Virginia) were quite impressed with that. My father-in-law thought I'd never seen country ham before--that's all my grandmother ever served.

 

And the correct pronunciation is yawl and the L is silent.