They marched in silence along the Greenbelt trail.
The majority of the crowd was made up of women, but men, children and youth joined in as well. Occasionally that silence was broken as children stopped to play, or people said a quiet hello to one another, or dogs who had been brought along insisted on sniffing each other in greeting. For the most part though, there was quiet as participants in the Women's March made their way from Kovach Park to the Worker's Memorial where a small rally took place.
The Women's March in Revelstoke, held on Saturday, was among the hundreds of similar marches being held worldwide, including 30 in B.C., to coincide with the Women's March on Washington. It was organized by Anne Keller, who holds dual Canadian/American citizenship.
"This is a human rights march," said Keller. "This is a peaceful global initiative. There are currently almost 700 marches happening today worldwide. Communities today are standing together in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder for the protection of our human rights, our safety, our health, and our families. The strength of our cultures is essential to create vibrant, diverse, and strong communities. We rally together in solidarity, diversity, and inclusion."
Like Keller, Paula Hill is also a dual citizen. Her reason for marching was to show support to her family and friends still living in the United States.
"It's for family and friends who will be impacted negatively about a lot of the things [Trump] is talking about. Between repealing some of the gay rights advances, changing the health care — it's really an immediate danger to people who I love," said Hill.
Halfway along the trail marchers stopped to take part in singing marching songs before continuing along to the Worker's Memorial. Once they arrived, the rally began and participants were given an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings. Among those who chose to share were Jill Zacharias and Stefania Morrison.
"Today I march for our children and our children's children," said Jill Zacharias. "We live in a world that is increasingly complex, increasingly chaotic, increasingly disparate. But we can't forget what is a part of us as a human people, and that's empathy and the power of positive thinking and joining together with others in the power of positive thinking."
Morrison, who read a quote out loud during the rally, shared later her reason for marching was to show how close to home violence and abuse are in Revelstoke.
"I marched so that people understand that abuse and violence has no gender, race, age or status," she said. "Moreover I marched because I believe all people equally have the right to feel safe in body, mind, and spirit."
Finally, local writer Leslie Davidson read a poem, Women of a certain rage, that you can find at RevelstokeReview.com.