GALLERY: North Canton Preps for Visit From Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan

Today, North Canton gets a chance to show off in a big way.

It will host thousands of people when presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan come to town for their campaign rally, and city officials and residents are making sure the city is prepped and polished for the limelight.

North Canton Mayor David Held said workers have been busy prepping the city for the event.

"We wanted to make sure all the streets are clean, and a great segment of Main Street is paved, so it's a little smoother for the motorcade," Held said. "We're going to have thousands of people coming into the city for this event alone, and that in itself is economic development."

But is the preparation a ton of work? 

Not as much as you might think, Held said.

"In North Canton, we're used to handling big crowds, and we have a protocol for this," he said, adding it's much like preparing for a big football game or for the July 4 Race.

Held said it's a real honor for the city to host the event.

"Out of all the municipalities, they picked North Canton," he said. "We're excited to have the Romney campaign visit the city of North Canton not once, but twice."

Fireworks could be on the agenda for tonight, as well as an appearance from "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton, according to the Plain Dealer. And the Oak Ridge Boys musical group tweeted this week they would be performing at the rally.

The North Canton City School District also has been hard at work preparing for the visit. Check out this North Canton Patch story to see how.