While the anniversary celebration of the Women's March is being held in Las Vegas, it will not quite be like last year's monumental event.
The Women's March Anniversary is called Power to the Polls and will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, at Sam Boyd Stadium, 7000 E. Russell Road. The event is free, but people are encouraged to register here so organizers can track the number of attendees.
People marched around the world, with the main march in Washington D.C., for last year's first event, held the day after President Trump's inauguration.
PHOTOS: Women's March on Washington in Las Vegas 2017
Why is the event being held in Las Vegas? According to organizers, Nevada has experienced gun violence, such as 1 October, to politicians accused of sexual misconduct, including the allegations against Congressman Ruben Kihuen.
Nevada has also stood out for electing female leaders at both the national and state level, said Erika Washington, executive director of Make It Work Nevada, one of 54 local partners that helped organize the Women's March anniversary event in Las Vegas.
"Las Vegas because Nevada was a shining star in the 2016 election. You know, we stayed blue, we made some historic landmark things happen,” she said. “We have our first U.S. senator, Latina named Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, that happened in 2016. We also had some great strides at the state level as well. So I think Nevada proved that we're pushing the needle of progress all the way to excellency."
One major change to the Women's March in Las Vegas this year, besides location, is that it will not be a march, but rather a rally.
"January 21 isn’t the only day we can take to the streets. We’ve marched before and we will march again, but we’ve chosen to make the Vegas anniversary event a rally and literal call to action that will kick-off not simply a march but a national tour: the #PowerToThePolls campaign," organizers said on the EventBrite page.
The anniversary rally at Sam Boyd Stadium is a national voter registration and mobilization tour targeting swing states, such as Nevada, to register new voters and engage communities.
"I hope that people who stayed home in 2016 that they are now realizing that their vote does matter, that we need to do this together, that we need to stay involved," Washington said. "It goes past even voting, we need to stay engaged with our elected officials, engaged with the bills, engaged with the policy, and we need to advocate for ourselves and for our neighbors."
Women's March organizers want to fill Sam Boyd Stadium, which holds about 45,000 people.
"There's really great excitement all around Las Vegas that I've seen," Washington said. "If we don't hit 45,000, we're going to hit a really large number of folks. We have a lot of folks coming from out of state; I've seen people saying they're carpooling and driving in from California. There's people taking flights from back east, from New York and what have you."
Parking will be free at Sam Boyd Stadium, and organizers are encouraging people to take public transit as well with free shuttle services being offered. More details on transportation have been posted on the event's website.
In other cities, people are still marching and some are even marching on Saturday, Jan. 20, the anniversary of the president's inauguration. The anniversary event in Las Vegas is happening on Jan. 21 because that is the one-year anniversary of the first march.
"I think what Sunday is going to do is going to help bring us together, and it's going to give us that energy that we need to power through the 2018 midterm elections and all the way up to 2020," Washington said.
Expected speakers at Sam Boyd Stadium will include:
- Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
- Melissa Harris-Perry, professor and political commentator
- U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
- Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter
- Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution
- Rev. William Barber III, civil rights activist
- U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
- Idaho State Rep. Paulette Jordan (D-ID)
- Jane Kim, San Francisco Supervisor and Mayoral Candidate
- Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org
- Ashlee Marie Preston, civil rights activist
- Maria Teresa Kumar, president & CEO of VotoLatino
- María Urbina, national political director at Indivisible
- Dr. Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, scholar and civil rights advocate
- Women’s March co-chairs Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, Bob Bland, and more
- A performance by Faith Evans was also recently announced.
For more details, check out the Power to the Polls website or the Women's March Nevada Facebook page.
Ahead of Sunday's anniversary event, sign-making parties are being held around Las Vegas.
Event: Breakfast/Brunch & Sign-Making party
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Location: VegeNation Restaurant
Address: 616 Carson Ave #120, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Additional details: Come join other activists in making signs for the Women’s March while enjoying food from VegeNation. Attendees are asked to bring paper, markers, and activist vibes.
Event: Trump a Year of Resistance: Women’s March Poster Station
Organizer: Tender Boyz Podcast
Date: Saturday, January 20
Time: Noon-4 p.m.
Location: ReBAR, 1225 S. Main St., Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
Additional Information: Come down and make your posters for the @womensmarchonwash on the 21st! First 50 beers are provided by the venue. Posters and markers provided.
Event: Planned Parenthood Grassroots and Voter Registration Training
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Address: 2250 S. Rancho Drive #165. Las Vegas, NV 89102
Additional Details: Members from several local grassroots organizations will be on hand to help spread the word and teach volunteers how to register voters at the Women’s March.
Event: Sign-Making for the Women’s March “Power to the Polls”
Organizer: Omar Haikal Islamic Academy
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 1:30–4:30 p.m.
Location: 485 E. Eldorado Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89123
