Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) will speak at the first-ever National Tea Party Convention this upcoming February.
The announcement of plans for the conservative lawmaker to attend the Tennessee event came from Tea Party organizer Sherry Phillips via Twitter Tuesday.
Bachmann, who has emerged as a champion of the Tea Party movement, will join ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at the convention for the "purpose of networking and supporting the movements' multiple organizations principle goals." Palin will be the "special keynote speaker" at the event, which is taking place at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Press will be allowed in a designated section of the lobby of the convention only and will not be allowed inside the convention," reports the Nashville Post. "There will be no media allowed for the banquet with Sarah Palin."
Asked by Fox News if she would run in 2012 with Tea Party movement instigator Glenn Beck, Palin did not dismiss or endorse the idea.
Tickets to attend the February 4-6 "private event" can be purchased for $549. The steep price tag does not include hotel lodging, which starts at $436.99 for a three-night package. The Washington Independent reported that just 160 of the hotel's 2,881 rooms were still available as of Wednesday morning.