Two noisy protests marked the first official day of G-8, as activists from all over the world made Calgary the staging ground for grievances and gripes against capitalism.
For local bystanders, by far the more popular of the two rallies featured a semi-nude protest against clothing giant Gap, with thousands of lunch-hour workers straining their necks for a not-so-sly glimpse of the show on Stephen Avenue.
But with fewer than 100 protesters attending the noon strip-off -- about 20 doffing their duds -- an evening march by nearly 1,000 anti-G-8 activists was taken far more seriously by police.
Claiming the streets as their own, the protesters marched through Calgary in the biggest, most colourful demonstration so far.
They set up a huge music party on Macleod Tr. across the LRT tracks from the Roundup Centre, where the city had thrown an official party for G-8 delegates.
Spurred on by rallying speeches in Memorial Park, where they assembled, the protesters formed a parade that would rival any Stampede version for colour.
The aim of the protest, called the "Showdown at the Hoedown," was to make the protesters' anti-G-8 message heard by the delegates inside.
Policed by a team of cops on bikes, the protesters closed 12 Ave. and a section of Macleod Tr. as they marched to their party alongside the LRT station. Favourite chants were "Whose streets? Our Streets" and "People united will never be defeated."
Once they got as near as they could to the Roundup Centre, they started up drum circles and even a trampoline display in the centre lanes of Macleod Tr.
The march shut down the LRT, both northbound and southbound, at Stampede Station. All vehicles, including Calgary Transit buses, were re-routed from northbound Macleod Tr. onto 17 Ave.
Several hundred of the protesters went straight to the Roundup Centre, and several of the more rowdy males in attendance began shaking a 25-metre length of chain-link fence.
About a dozen cops behind the fence lined their bicycles to form a mini-barricade and watched as protest leaders calmed the situation.
Earlier, thousands of Calgarians crammed Stephen Avenue Mall in hope of glimpsing naked protesters.
There was a bit of bare skin, but some of the gawkers said they felt cheated with little nudity that came only after nearly two hours of speeches and sing-alongs.
The protest ended when several demonstrators dropped their drawers to display a letter on each cheek that spelled out "Boycott Gap."
The anti-Gap movement is angry at company founders Donald and Doris Fisher, who bought about 900 sq. km. of forest in California to log giant redwood trees for profit.
The Fishers maintain they're blazing a trail by logging in a manner that minimizes the impact on forests.
The protesters also accuse Gap of unethical labour practices.
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