Last year’s Women’s March drew more than 10,000 people to Helena. Organizers this year are trying something different. This time there won’t be one big, centralized rally.
This year organizers are planning 9 different rallies in 9 different locations on Saturday. They predict Saturday they’ll draw thousands of like-minded people, concerned about the nation’s political and social direction.
Here’s Erin Erickson, the director of Missoula Rises.
“We thought that it would be much more feasible to have it be a statewide event where people wouldn’t have to travel because that can preclude some folks.”
Montana’s events Saturday will be held in Missoula, Helena, Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell, Butte, Miles City and Browning. The full list of times and locations can be found here.
“To be working together closely with people online who you’ve never even met before, but to be able to plan these types of events is pretty phenomenal," says Erickson.
Erickson says last year’s international Women’s March was an electrifying reaction to President Donald Trump’s election. She predicts this Saturday’s rallies will have a different feel.
"It is far less about marching in a reactionary mode," she says. "Really this is a celebration of the activism that has taken place by ordinary citizens across our state."