Large gathering for 1 Million March 4 Children in Swift Current

Downtown Swift Current was full of folks yesterday, as the 1 Million March 4 Children made its way through the city core. 

According to organizers, the event saw 512 people make their way to Centennial Plaza, where they convened before heading out. They marched along Central Avenue North, turning south to North Railway Street East, making their way then up First Avenue Northwest, heading up to Dufferin Street West, before navigating back down to 7th Heaven Hair Design.

The crowd quickly caught the eye of folks passing by, amassing rapidly between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Organizers of the March, Leanne Welke, and Trudy Holland, are both members of Freedom Patriots Saskatchewan, in the Swift Current branch.  Both participated themselves and were pleased with how the March went. 

Trudy Holland (left) and Leanne Welke (right) were amongst the first to arrive for the day, beginning preperations for the crowd as early as 8:30 a.m.

"It went amazing," said Welke. "It was peaceful, so peaceful, loving. And there was another group that was kind of to the left of us on the other corner and they were amazing as well.

A Canadian flag waves as the crowd pulls together before the March begins. 

The March was described by Welke as supporting the idea to "essentially remove the sexualization of children in our schools".

"Specifically the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, which is called SOGI from the schools," said Welke. "Which is promoting sexualization of children as well as gender confusion within children at a very early age." 

The March itself went without incident, evening seeing individuals from the Pride rally at Market Square exchanging peace signs and waves with the March members. 

"It's nothing about being anti-gay, anti-lesbian, or anti-trans," said Welke. "It's nothing about that. It's simply about protecting our children and keeping sex out of the schools at that age."

Signs were common throughout the many gathered for the March. 

After the March, folks were able to mix and mingle, discussing how it went, and other avenues of discussion. Plenty had come from out of town, to join in the March. The Smoke Shack food truck was present, offering meals and refreshments to attendees. 

Marching members varied in age and background. Welke estimated about 20 per cent of the marching body was made up of children, including a few from the Swift Current Comprehensive High School. 

"It's very encouraging to see the number that did turn out," said Welke. "People were very thankful that we were able to host this here."

The presence of children goes back to the nationwide movement of the March, which called for families and their children to walk out of school for the day in solidarity. 

For more information about the Pride gathering, which came together in response to this event, check out the article here.

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