CRYSTAL LAKE – Mitt Romney supporters will gather Thursday to watch the TV broadcast of the candidate’s acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

Supporters will gather from 7 to 10 p.m. at D’Andrea Banquets, 4419 Northwest Highway, in Crystal Lake, where television sets will be tuned for viewing the culmination of the convention, when Mitt Romney takes the podium as the official GOP nominee.

“Thursday’s event will mark the official kickoff of our fall campaign,” McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Mike Tryon said in a news release. “This is the most important election season in our history, and Republican energy is already reaching a fever pitch. I look forward to seeing a room full of enthusiastic Republicans and other Romney supporters, who are ready to work very hard over the next 2½ months to see a Republican sweep in November from president of the United States all the way to members of the McHenry County Board.”