Over ten thousand people turned out for the much-anticipated Tea Party rally on the Boston Common today, according to one estimate by the Boston police department. The event showcased the Tea Party Express III, a national bus tour that started in Sen. Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, NV on March 27th and is scheduled to conclude tomorrow in Washington, D.C. The national exposure of the event gave a tremendous boost in terms of turnout. What a difference from the comparatively small crowd of a few hundred that gathered here just one year ago. (Scroll down for photos!)

The speakers at today's event included former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Jeff Katz of AM1200 Rush Radio, the mother of deceased Navy SEAL Marc Allen Lee, Victoria Jackson of Saturday Night Live fame, and WTKK radio host Michael Graham. The event was emceed by Todd Feinburg of WRKO.

Media coverage of the event was extensive, judging from the number of television vans and camera crews I saw. CNN, Fox, NECN, and all of the local crews were there for the main speakers. The weather also cooperated beautifully, with temperatures in the low sixties and mostly sunny skies.

The Lucidicus Project was one of several organizations that set up a tent to distribute literature and interact with attendees. We put out six main pieces of information: two flyers, two essays, and two sample editorials. (For those who couldn't make it, the flyers and essays are available on our Other Resources page, and the editorials are available here and here.) Interest in the project was extremely high. Almost everyone who stopped to talk was learning about the project for the first time, although several enthusiastic attendees did stop by to say that they already follow the project on Twitter and that they love the tweets.

I estimate that we gave away over 900 pieces of literature. On average, people took about two items each. I tried to make substantial individual contact with just about every person, so by the end of the fourth hour, at least 450 new, unique people had a high-touch encounter with the Lucidicus Project today. The foot traffic was constant; I barely stopped talking all day. Plus, many, many more people walked by, saw the banner, overheard the discussions, took photos, and so on.

Our "Self-Defense Kit" was displayed prominently and I consistently received positive comments about it throughout the day. Healthcare practitioners (physicians, nurses, and dentists) were the most likely to leave a donation in the jar. Older people—even those who said they were on fixed incomes or disability—were more likely to donate than younger people (I sense they understand that causes don't advance themselves).

The biggest surprise of the day was the sheer number of people who know, or are related to, or connected to someone in healthcare or medical school. Over and over, I talked to people who told me that their son, daughter, nephew, niece, or grandchild is either in medical school or in the process of applying. They are concerned that it is simply not worth the cost and effort to go into medicine anymore, and they don't know what advice to give.

I did not have the time or resources to hand out any kits on the spot (it would have been difficult to collect and verify information), but I did meet several students and encouraged them to write and request a kit. If you check back over the next few days, I'm sure you will see some new profiles on the recipients page.

In sum, it was an outstanding event. I'd like to thank the organizers of the Tea Party Express for coming to Boston, and to Christen Varley and the volunteers of the Greater Boston Tea Party for helping the day to go smoothly. From publicity to permits to porta-potties, many volunteers came together to ensure a positive and peaceful event.

Photos from today's event on Boston Common (click to enlarge):

In the week leading up to the event, there was some concern over groups crashing the Tea Party with badly-made signs, racist signs, and so forth. In Boston, we saw more of the counter-protest activity than impostor activity, although both were present.

Some photos of impostors, phonies, counter-protesters, and garden-variety collectivists (click to enlarge):

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