G-8 activists delivered on their promise of a "family march," free of violence, as more than 2,500 people took to the streets of Calgary Sunday in a colourful pageant of protest.
The protesters didn't need to throw rocks or bottles to make their point, choosing instead to use humour and satire to skewer both the G-8 leaders and corporate globalization.
"We're not trying to scream at people to get them interested," said Calgarian Jim MacDonald, one of several activists who, in a nod to the World Cup of soccer, gave the G-8 leaders a "red card" for "unfair and unsportsmanlike play" on the world stage.
"When a soccer player gets taken down, they should get a red card. We think the G-8 should get a red card," MacDonald said as an activist pretending to be Africa handed out penalty cards to a group protesters dressed as "bobble-head" soccer-playing G-8 leaders.
Fears that the "family march" might be co-opted by violent radicals in the protest movement quickly evaporated once the march began.
The police presence was heavy, but the officers stuck to the periphery of the protest.
The sea of activists and concerned Calgarians met around noon at Eau Claire Market to begin their march to Olympic Plaza.
They came from all walks of life and represented a myriad of social justice concerns.
Stilt-walking "angels" towered over the crowd, calling for health-care reform. Closer to earth, a contingent of Raging Grannies earned cheers as they belted out nursery rhymes with subversive lyrics.
A crowd favourite was Picnic Time for the G-8 Boys, sung to the tune of The Teddy Bears Picnic.
Behind them, about 30 protesters in a cloth boat rowed for their "capitalist" master.
"Stroke, stroke, stroke, for corporate greed," the capitalist slave driver snarled. "Work, work, work, here's your pennies for my profit -- and my millions for me."
Police helicopters patrolled the skies, and officers wearing flak jackets hid inside some key buildings along the parade route.
Nowhere to be seen were the gas masks, water cannons and other police tools used to quell riots at previous protests.
Most security officers even listened politely when lectured by activists about police brutality and the evils of globalization.
There was a bit of trouble on Saturday night, though, as two protesters were arrested for allegedly spray-painting anti-G-8 graffiti on rail cars in the city core.
Fransico Kiko Singh, 22, of San Diego, and Lindsay Rider MacKinnon, 21, of New York, have been charged with mischief to property. Damage is estimated at about $7,000.
Some activists Sunday called on protesters to picket the Spy Hill Correctional Centre where their comrades are being held.
Both protesters and police generally traded compliments for managing to avoid the mayhem that's marred protests at other summits.
"We are very pleased with the presence -- or lack thereof -- of the police," said march organizer Gordon Christie of the Calgary District Labour Council. "We asked them to stay in the background, and they did."
"We think this was very successful," added Calgary Police Insp. Al Redford. "I think this speaks to the process of working with the organizers to ensure nobody gets hurt."
Whether the peaceful vibe of the family march will continue throughout the G-8 remains to be seen.
Although most of the activists at the family march said violence isn't the answer, some activists are vowing to use road blocks and other tactics of civil disobedience to cause chaos in Calgary and disrupt the G-8, which begins Wednesday.
On Sunday, the crowd was split between union workers and young demonstrators. It also had a mix of the young and the old, with both groups seemingly feeding off each other's youthful energy and protest experience
"This is wonderful! I feel incredible," James Tower, a silver-haired veteran of the movement from California, shouted over the din of the crowd. "The Gang of 8 may believe they rule the world, but this is real power -- the power of the people."
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