Sick of rubber chicken at political dinners? Try a little raccoon

Apparently it's a highlight of the Arkansas political campaigning year. A day when Democrat and Republican elected officials and political hopefuls from across the state meet in Gillett for the Gillett Coon Supper.
Saturday's event was a success, said Chad Philipp, president of the Gillett Farmers and Businessmen's Club. As the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported, it sold out. The high school gymnasium was filled to capacity.
Bishop Woosley, who is running for a US Senate seat, was one of the many political wannabes using the occasion to meet voters and reconnect with old friends. For all of them, stomaching the raccoon was more of a concern than the political race.

"It gets people out of Little Rock, out of Washington, into rural Arkansas, and you can talk about some of the challenges you have in rural Arkansas," Boozman said of the Coon Supper. "And if you really like raccoon, you can have all you want."
Last year's event was the first he had attended.
"It's funny listening to all the folks coaching first-timers about what part to get, what part not to get," he said, referring to the night's main course. "They say to grab the big piece that looks kind of like the back. It's bony, and it doesn't have a lot of meat, so you can just chew on it."