Thousands of Alaskans join Women's March in solidarity with national events
Author: Suzanna Caldwell
Snow, frigid temperatures and harrowing driving conditions weren't enough to keep thousands of Alaskans from participating in Women's March events across the state Saturday.
Organizers reported hundreds of people in cities like Palmer, Homer and Juneau. Even remote communities like Adak, located in the Aleutian Islands, reported 10 people in attendance. At least 38 marched in Unalakleet, a Northwest Alaska village of 700 people.
In Adak, the westernmost city in the United States, people gathered in solidarity with the Women’s March movement. A group of 10 people took to slick, snowy roads despite the wind and snow on Saturday. (Nicole Gordon)
Anchorage and Fairbanks both estimated march attendance in the thousands.
However, exact numbers were hard to find.
Liz Medicine Crow, president and CEO of the First Alaskans Institute and one of five speakers who addressed the Anchorage crowd at the Delaney Park Strip, estimated that roughly 2,000 people were in attendance at the morning rally.
"When I was on the stage, I couldn't see the back of the group," she said.
Anchorage event organizer Celeste Godfrey thought it was closer to 3,500 people. She said the indoor portion of the march at Williwaw quickly reached its 1,000-person capacity.
The Women’s March on Fairbanks drew women, men and children out in subzero temperatures. The reported high was 19 below zero. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner estimated 2,000 people participated in the march Saturday. (Seth Adams)
In Fairbanks, co-organizer Jeannine Haney said Raven's Landing, the indoor portion of the event, quickly met its 340-person limit.
She had thought Friday that maybe 300 would show up. She suspects it was closer to 2,000 based on attendance at Raven's Landing and crowd estimates, despite morning temperatures in Fairbanks dipping down to minus 20 degrees.
"It was incredible," she said after the event Saturday.
More including great pictures and video.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/01/21/large-crowd-attends-womens-march-on-anchorage-in-solidarity-with-national-events/ 
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