U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. 10th District, will speak at the Tax Day Tea Party on the Old Courthouse Square in Morganton.

The event starts at noon Wednesday.

The rally will give local taxpayers an opportunity to exercise their freedom of speech in an event inspired by the Boston Tea Party of 1773. The Burke County Property Owners & Taxpayers Association and other groups are organizing the Tax Day Tea Party in Morganton.

"Taxpayers fed up with the spending and tax increases happening in Washington will be holding hundreds of similar protests across the country," noted McHenry's spokesman and communications director Brock McCleary.

For more information on the National Tax Day Tea Party, visit its Web site at www.taxdayteaparty.com.