In Portland's parade of protests against President-elect Donald Trump, it's becoming more challenging for demonstrators to distinguish themselves.

The Portland Women March Against Hate on Saturday, however, managed to do that.

It featured live music, an hour and a half of speeches and a march through downtown streets that showed off more creative and colorful signs than have been displayed at previous anti-Trump marches. The event concluded with emcee Adriane Ackerman offering directions about how to remain involved in community activism.

The Fallen Angels Choir set the tone as the opening act for the event that drew nearly 1,000 people to Director Park. The six-voice choir put a political twist on holiday standards. ("Jingle coins, jingle coins, jingle in the till. Our taxes we have never paid and we never will!" or "Build the wall with steel and wire, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. If they jump we'll build it higher, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.")

They were followed by speakers including Portland Commissioner-elect Chloe Eudaly, clean air activist Mary Peveto; Rut Martinez-Alicea, multicultural center coordinator at Portland Community College; Rebekah Katt Brewis, executive legal director, PDX Trans Pride; and Donna Maxey, a retired Portland Public Schools teacher and administrator of 20 years who founded the organization Race Talks.

"We won't make the same mistake the next time around," Eudaly, the eighth woman to ever serve on the Portland City Council, said to cheers. "Portland will remain a sanctuary city ... our representatives at the local, state and federal levels are already working on legislation to help Portland weather the storm."

People in the audience offered a variety of reasons to spend a few hours of their Saturday afternoon outside in chilly temperatures under leaden skies.

"I feel it's really important for all of us to be vigilant," said Jean Kempe-Ware of Portland. "There is so much at stake in our country."

Julie Bryan Bosworth attended with three friends who, like her, are active in the pro gun safety group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

"There are so many ways that hate is expressed in our country," Bosworth said. "And to see it increasing in any way over the last month is just so scary and something all of us need to stand up against. As part of Moms Demand Action, we want to make sure that guns are never in the hands of the wrong people. That people who own guns are responsible gun owners. And we're working toward common sense gun legislation."

Pam Davidson sat on a bench near the speakers holding her 8-month-old grandson with her 4-year-old granddaughter nearby. Davidson, of Warren, said her daughter, Liz Thorne of Northeast Portland, came up with the idea for all of them to attend.

"It's important that they grow up knowing that we can make a change in the world," Davidson said of her grandchildren.

Thorne, who pushed a stroller carrying her son, said "for me its important to be here just to stand with my fellow women on the street. ... I want to show my kids we're in a place that supports everybody and loves everybody."

The march traveled streets that have been popular routes for previous protests - only this time the organizers obtained a permit and prearranged for police patrols and street blockages. From Director Park, the marchers took to the street, chanting and walking south on Southwest Ninth Avenue, east on Salmon Street, north on Fourth Avenue, west on Oak Street, south on Broadway Avenue, west on Taylor for about a block before reaching Park Avenue and Director Park.

Traffic in cross streets was only temporarily disrupted as marchers filled the width of the street and the procession stretched about a block and a half. Shoppers, diners and others stopped what they were doing to watch the march pass by, punctuated by chants such as "nasty women get things done," "we're women united, we'll never be divided," "women's rights are human rights" and "we're women, we're loud, united and we're proud."

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman