Meet Bread and Butter, the Two Lucky Turkeys Chosen for This Year’s Thanksgiving Pardon

Alison Fox

As part of the annual tradition, President Donald Trump will issue a pardon to two turkeys — named Bread and Butter — as part of the annual ceremony naming one of them the official National Thanksgiving Turkey on Tuesday.

The two turkeys arrived from North Carolina over the weekend and were treated to a stay at the The Willard InterContinental hotel, according to The White House's Facebook page, which is holding a vote to determine which of the two turkeys should win the coveted title.

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Bread and Butter, who arrived from North Carolina, walk inside their room at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 25. The pair awaits a pardoning ceremony with President #Trump on Tuesday ahead of #Thanksgiving. In the second picture, a privacy request hangs on the door of their hotel room near the White House. Photographs by @saulloeb—@afpphoto/@gettyimages and @jacquelynmartin—@apnews

A post shared by TIME (@time) on Nov 25, 2019 at 3:59pm PST

Bread and Butter, who weigh 45 and 47 pounds, respectively, are no ordinary turkeys. Bread loves college basketball, bluegrass music, leaf peeping (T+L is with you there), and has a “loquacious” gobble style. His goal is to master aerial yoga.

Butter prefers the bagpipes, loves sweet potato fries, NASCAR, visiting the Outer Banks, and has a “rowdy” gobble style.

The turkey pardon is expected to take place in the Rose Garden at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and will likely be live streamed on the White House’s website and broadcast on C-SPAN, Newsweek reported.

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The pair participated in a pre-pardon press conference at The Willard InterContinental hotel, adding the turkeys would later travel to their new home at Virginia Tech’s “Gobblers Rest.” The college’s HokieBird mascot, which looks a bit like a turkey, was on hand for the festivities.

The annual holiday tradition can traced back all the way back to President Abraham Lincoln when a live turkey was brought to him for Christmas dinner and his son intervened on the bird’s behalf, sparing its life, Town & Country reported. Lincoln later declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863.

The turkey pardon tradition was made official in 1989 under former President George H.W. Bush, who promised that "this fine tom turkey" would not end up on a dinner table, according to USA Today.

Last year, Trump offered a presidential pardon to Peas and Carrots, who were raised in South Dakota. After their pardon, the turkeys were sent to live out their lives at “Gobblers Rest” as well.

Who's your pick for this year?