It’s been described as a conservative Woodstock.
Thousands are expected to descend this weekend upon the 160-acre property in Searchlight, Nevada — the hometown of Sen. Harry Reid — for a mega Tea Party Event that Sarah Palin is set to headline.
The owner of the property, T.D. Barnes, has invited activists to camp out at the rally.
“Searchlight has a population of just under 700 people,” said Bryan Shroyer, the political director of the Tea Party Express. “This Saturday the town will swell to become one of the largest cities in the state of Nevada.”
Reid’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Tea Party Express, who plans to kick off a bus tour after the weekend’s rally, is coordinating the event along with Nevada grassroots Tea Party and conservative groups. “We have untold thousands of people coming for what may be the biggest such rally in Nevada’s history,” said Ryan Gill of the Tea Party Express. “It might be crowded or chaotic at times, but it will be a profoundly meaningful and significant event for those who come join our tea party rally.”
Reid’s tiny hometown will also host Joe The Plumber, Saturday Night Live’s Victoria Jackson, conservative media icon Andrew Breitbart, and ACORN sting video journalist Hannah Giles, among others, at “High Noon,” as organizers described it, on Saturday.
The Tea Party Express says campgrounds throughout southern Nevada have been filling with RV-driving supporters. Thousands more are expected to fly in from all across the country.
Palin, who on Friday campaigned in Arizona for her former running mate Sen. John McCain, headlined the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tenn. last month and brought along a substantial amount of international and national press with her. With her role in the Nevada rally, organizers expect a similar press contingent and are encouraging outlets to cover the event by helicopter.