This weekend, on what many consider the birthday of a new era of civic engagement heralded by President Donald Trump’s election, local activists who’ve spent the past year demonstrating for myriad causes will march on.

The 2018 Women’s March on Colorado Springs will take place Sunday, marking the first anniversary of what is believed to be among the largest demonstrations in the city’s history. Because of the winter storm, the planned gathering in Acacia Park was moved indoors to All Souls Universalist Unitarian Church. Participants will march from the church at 730 N. Tejon St. at 2:30 p.m. to the park and return to the church.

The demonstration will occur a day after the march in Denver – in step with the flagship march in Washington, D.C., and similar events in other cities around the world – to allow attendees to participate in efforts in Colorado Springs and the state Capitol, organizers say.

Because of the bad weather, local organizers are expecting a lower turnout than last year’s crowd of roughly 7,000, but they say they’ve met the goal they made following the first march: turning the passion and enthusiasm that emerged during the historic 2017 event into sustained activism – or, as they have often said, “a movement, not a moment.”

“It’s obvious the momentum has continued, and that’s why we’re doing a march a year later,” said Deb Walker, executive director of the locally based nonpartisan organization Citizens Project. “People are engaged in a way that they haven’t been in a long time – and part of that is that many people, particular women, feel an acute threat to their rights.”

Since last year’s march, at least 10 protests in the city have attracted a hundred or more people. Demonstrators have rallied in support of protections for undocumented immigrants and against health care reform. They have demanded Trump release his tax returns and urged him and other national leaders to make decisions based on science. Passing cars have honked, and curious onlookers have stopped to watch. It’s a show of activism that’s uncharacteristic for Colorado Springs, a city widely known as a conservative bastion.

While Trump’s inauguration spurred many dissatisfied voters to take part in last year’s march, this year’s protesters are likely to find strength in a new rallying cry: “Me, too,” the two-word viral movement that recently became a widely used symbol of solidarity among women who have experienced sexual assault and harassment.

Organizers’ estimate of 1,000 participants is based on the number of people who have expressed interest in the event on social media, said Rosemary Lytle with the National Association for the Advancement of Colorado People, one of the hosting groups.

As of Thursday evening, nearly 900 people had marked that they were “going” to the event on Facebook, and 2,300 more had expressed interest in attending.

The event’s hosting organizations – including the Colorado Springs Feminists, the El Paso County Democratic Party and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains – have obtained a permit that will allow marchers in the road. Protesters will be led by police officers who will block off intersections as the procession passes and then reopen the streets, said Dee Brown, a city communications specialist.

In the past year, activism spawned by the original Women’s March has taken a variety of forms, from writing letters to congressmen to declaring candidacy for political office.

At last spring’s March for Science on the steps of City Hall, local resident Betty Field announced her intentions to unseat U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn of the 5th Congressional District in this year’s election. Field, a 48-year-old office manager for a mortgage company, didn’t seriously consider running for office until Trump was elected.

“A lot of folks felt unheard, that the election results did not reflect them, that the representation that we had – from the local level, state level, all the way up to federal level – just did not reflect our values, our belief system or goals,” she said.

Field is one of many women who, disappointed with those representing them at the local, state or federal level, have decided to begin their own campaigns. Nationwide, more women than ever have filed to become candidates in this year’s election, according to this week’s cover story in Time magazine.

Local activist groups have noticed an uptick in participation. Catherine Grandorff, board president of the Colorado Springs Feminists, said the group now sees more people at its events and is getting twice the attention it once did on social media sites.

“The number of events and opportunities to get involved at the local level, at least in my experience this past year, has just blossomed,” Grandorff said. “We’re seeing people reaching out and becoming active in our community . That’s been a huge step. Especially for us here in Colorado Springs.”