PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Women’s March at noon Saturday will be virtual, casual and warm, organizers said — and while it’s just an hour long, the event will revel in big strides.
“The main purpose is for us to celebrate the fact we have a new woman vice president,” said Debbi Steele, who’s been rallying people since the first Women’s March four years ago.
Alongside Vice President Kamala Harris are “many women in positions in the Biden administration,” she added, “so we’re going to get together, tell our stories and share our excitement.”
All are welcome at the free event; for the Zoom link, email PTwomensmarch@gmail.com or visit the fifth annual Port Townsend Women’s Virtual March page on Facebook.
The online event will have a kind of warmup Saturday morning: a slide show of past women’s marches at 11:30 a.m.
Emcee Amanda Funaro will open the main event at noon and welcome speakers around the North Olympic Peninsula, including from the Olympic Community Action Programs, Bayside Housing Services, the American Association of University Women, Jefferson Healthcare and Dove House Advocacy Services.
Jefferson County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour will read the Women’s March proclamation; she, along with commissioners Kate Dean and Greg Brotherton, plan to watch from home.
“We will have surprise guest speakers,” including one who will address the topic of equality and human rights, Steele added.
The virtual march will be a chance for people to connect safely and comfortably, she said — and talk about the events of Inauguration Day.
At the first Port Townsend Women’s March, held to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, hundreds assembled downtown for a walk and rally. Across town at the Haines Place park and ride, busloads of North Olympic Peninsula residents departed for Seattle’s event.
In the ensuing years, marches on or around Jan. 20 have taken place in Jefferson and Clallam counties, Seattle and in cities around the world.
This year, the event is about inspiration and women in leadership.
For Steele, one of the towering speakers at President Joe Biden’s swearing-in was 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, who read her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” on the U.S. Capitol stage.
“Amanda Gorman for president!” Steele quipped at the small Inauguration Day gathering in downtown Port Townsend on Wednesday.
Seriously, this Saturday’s Women’s March “will be short and sweet,” she said, “and we don’t have to go to Seattle.”
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
