An Arkansas political tradition in its 72nd year, the annual Gillett Coon Supper, is taking place Saturday evening. The gathering in the elementary school gym of the southeast Arkansas hamlet of Gillette is famous among the state’s politicos for its barbeque raccoon and has been a must-stop on the political circuit for decades.
Political scientist Hal Bass of Ouachita Baptist University says events like the Coon Supper are waning in importance in an era of unprecedented campaign spending and mass media but are still relevant.
“Events like the Coon Supper, the Slovak Oyster Supper, the Hope Watermelon Festival, the Warren Pink Tomato Festival, I think events like these really play on the theme of nostalgia. Having said that, we still are a relatively rural state. In other words, it’s not unnatural for folks to go to a small community like Gillett,” said Bass.
Bass points to the 2014 U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor and Republican challenger Tom Cotton as an example of the clout of small town events such as the Coon Supper.
“Politics and political culture in Arkansas is changing. We saw pretty clear evidence of that this time around when Senator Cotton doesn’t appear to have paid a heavy price for not going to the Pink Tomato Festival (Bradley County) and going out to California (Club for Growth retreat) instead. I don’t think events like we’re talking about here have as much of an impact as they did in a more personalstic era,” said Bass.
Cotton went on to defeat Pryor in the November election.
As for the barbeque raccoon, Bass says it’s not a dish that everyone in attendance may like, “there may be some, but far more not than do.”
