Texas
GENERAL RELATIVITY

Lee and Grant, an exhibit studying the two generals, returns to the South and its original name after a brief stay at the New-York Historical Society as Grant and Lee: In War and Peace (local proclivities reversed the billing). From May 27 through September 20, the Museum of Southern History at Houston Baptist College will host the exhibit, which originated from the Virginia Historical Society. Contrary to what you might expect, Lee and Grant does not focus predominantly on the war that pitted the two men against each other. Rather, it offers a broader view of both men’s lives, from their educations at West Point to the struggles of Reconstruction, with considerable attention to the Seminole Wars and the Mexican War. That’s not to say the Civil War is excluded. One of the prominent paintings on display is “Let us have peace, 1865,” depicting the surrender at Appomattox, with Lee appearing as stoic as ever.
hbu.edu/lee_grant

Virginia
SMOKE ’EM IF YOU CATCH ’EM

They say politics makes strange bedfellows, and that’s certainly the case at the Wakefield Ruritan Club Shad Planking, April 15. Here, politicians and oily fish (on second thought maybe this isn’t such a strange pairing) share the spotlight in a Virginia tradition dating back to the 1930s. The shad are placed on hardwood planks and smoked over an open fire as the state’s politically minded gather to hear from their would-be leaders. This year’s speakers are no less than the Virginia 2009 gubernatorial candidates. Though the event has become known for its “sign wars,” in which opposing factions try to outdo each other with the ubiquitous campaign yard ornaments, it is traditionally a lighthearted affair, with plenty of beer and a mostly bipartisan vibe. After all, it’s the fish getting raked over the coals, not the politicians. shadplanking.com

Washington, D.C.
HOLD YOUR LIKKER

Back in 1982, the New York Times attempted to gentrify potlikker as pot liquor, per Webster’s guidance. Zell Miller, the then lieutenant governor of Georgia, confronted the blunder and made darn sure readers understood the sanctity of the soupy liquid leftover from a pot of greens, including its spelling. The Southern Foodways Alliance gives this hallowed staple its due with the Potlikker Film Fest, a biannual tour that celebrates the South’s culinary and cinematic achievements, and the green stuff, too. The tour makes its next stop April 18 in the nation’s capital, with showings of such documentaries as Eat or We Both Starve and Hot Chicken. D.C. chefs will cook up some tantalizing treats, from Delta catfish tamales to Jack and sweets pie. Meanwhile, Mark Furstenberg will tackle the potlikker. His plan to spike it with whiskey might veer a tad from convention, but we predict guests won’t mind. We hope Mr. Miller won’t either. southernfoodways.com

West Virginia
LOW ROLLIN’

Maybe it’s the financial crisis, but we don’t think so. Them boys in West Virginia know just how to strip a spring afternoon down to the essentials: a country road and a steel ball.  No sticks, no horses, no pins, no caddies, no clubhouse, no rush. Just the road and…the steel ball. The goal? Roll it, bay-bee! But, as in golf, the aim is to see who can get down the one- to two-mile course in the fewest number of underhand tosses. Tour dates for this league sport of Irish Road Bowling—also known as Irish Long Bullets—are in West Virginia during two halcyon weekends this spring, at Pipestem Resort State Park, April 25–26; and at the Strawberry Festival, May 16–17. Sign up, and contemplate what it takes to roll the big steel. And trust us, even though there are no holes, at the end there’s a nineteenth hole for everybody. wvirishroadbowling.com