There will a mini tea party today before some 100 local people head to Washington Saturday for the National Tea Party, one of the local organizers said.

A replica of the Dartmouth, one of the ships from which tea was dumped into Boston Harbor is expected to be at Centennial Park on Roanoke Avenue from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., local Tea Party organizer Pat Croisetiere said this morning.

Croisetiere said the Dartmouth was one of three ships involved in the Boston Tea Party and owners of the replica are taking it to Washington from Jacksonville, Fla. “The owners of this unique ship replica are concerned citizens,” she said. “They formed the group First Coast Tea Party to remind Washington politicians of their responsibility to uphold the foundation of our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence.”

Croisetiere, who got the permits for the assembly late Tuesday, said as many as 100 people are expected to be at Centennial Park today. The group includes members of the Roanoke Valley Patriots, a politically unaffiliated group fed up with everything from bailouts to cap and trade.

Excitement about Saturday’s bus trip to Washington mounts, Croisetiere said. “One person going is changing his dialysis schedule to attend. You couldn’t find anything that’s any more passionate than that.”

Croisetiere said buses from 31 states are leaving for the national event. ”We have so many people who are psyched and gung-ho.”