If you are interested in having your own rolling tea party, contact us and we will post the information.
The Rolling Tea Party will be hundreds of people slowly driving their automobiles along a pre-designed route, advertising the RollingTeaParty.com website. Each car will have the website URL written on windows and signs, with American flags and Gadsden flags attached to draw attention. As the general public sees these cars and reads the signs, it is our hope they will look up this website to see what's going on.
The idea of a rolling tea party is to take the people that attend the 'standard' tea party/townhall/protest and spread them throughout the city.
Of the tea parties that were held in Raleigh, NC, the smallest attendance was about 1,000. The impact on the general population during the event was minimal; only people in the immediate area knew about it. Outside that four block area, thousands of people went about their business and lives completely unaware of the tea party.
A Rolling Tea Party will disperse the message across the city, exposing thousands to a spectacle that they may not understand at first, but they will remember. They will ask questions, they will go to the website.
Advantages of the Rolling Tea Party over the standard
- No permits.
- No insurance.
- No porta-potties
- No speakers.
- No rented stages or PA systems.
- Very little coordination and planning.
Question: Why do the participants need to drive the same route?
Having all cars follow the same route will increase the impact. If a person sees one or two cars with the same signage and flags, they may take note. But if they see hundreds within a two hour period they will be far more likely to look into it - investigate, go to the website.
Question: Why have one long route instead of several short ones?
If multiple short routes were made available we couldnt predict how many participants would be driving any one particular route. Some routes may be overloaded, while other routes are neglected.
We don't want to have to make assignments based on pre-registered volunteers, that require much more coordination, planning and most important - time.
Also, a single route increases the impact on the individual observer by seeing multiple vehicles instead of a few. Or, instead of seeing a few cars driving around in circles, they see many cars passing through.
The exposure and impact should be greater.
Question: Does everyone have to start at the beginning of the route?
You can arrive at the starting point with your vehicle already decorated with signs and slogans or prepare your care while the group gathers.
Question: What signs should we have?
Primarily, we want the words "RollingTeaParty.com" prominent on all sides of the vehicle. If your windows are large enough to write it there, then that will do.
Signs made on poster board can be attached also.
As long as the "RollingTeaParty.com" is there, other 'teaparty' style slogans can be used as well.
Question: How slow do we have to drive?
The entire route was chosen to avoid major highways, freeways and interstates. At no point on the route should you be compelled to exceed 45mph.
There are several reasons to maintain slow speed.
- It will give observers more time to study each vehicle, read the signs and think.
- Slower speeds will reduce the chances of losing attached flags and signs.
- A lot of the roads along the route are multi-lane and driving slower than the traffic will mean almost all traffic passing the tea party vehicles. Again, giving them more time to observe.
- It's easier to follow directions when you're already moving slowly.
