A coalition of national tea party groups is planning a weekend political rally at The Woodlands racetrack this fall that could bring tens of thousands of people to the area.
The Freedom Jamboree will begin Sept. 30, although gates will open for campers and tailgaters two days earlier. Organizers said the event will include speeches, music and fireworks.
The event will climax with a presidential straw poll on Oct. 1.
“Freedom Jamboree is the national tea party event of 2011,” said William Temple of Brunswick, Ga., one of the organizers at a Tuesday news conference to announce details of the event. “We’re not going back to D.C. this year, we’re coming here to K.C.”
Temple said admittance to the event will be free and as many as 300,000 people might attend.
The coalition isn’t directly affiliated with better-known tea party groups such as FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, or the Tea Party Express. Those groups and others have been invited to the event.
But organizers of several past tea party events wanted to reflect the grass-roots nature of their movement by avoiding a direct connection with those organizations, Temple said.
Hundreds of state tea party groups have been asked to send a delegate.
Potential GOP presidential candidates also have been invited, and at least one — Rep. Michele Bachmann — is expected to attend.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican, said the jamboree could play an important role in the presidential nomination process in his party.
“We don’t have a well-defined presidential field,” Kobach said. “We don’t have a presidential candidate who’s clearly assumed the mantle of speaking for the tea party. All of these things can crystallize in Kansas City. … That’s why I think you’re going to see some important things happening at this festival.”
@ Go to KansasCity.com for a video report. To reach Dave Helling, call 816-234-4656 or send email to dhelling@kcstar.com.
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