20 inspiring Instagram photos from the Women’s March on Austin

Congress Avenue became a sea of protesters Saturday as tens of thousands of people marched down that street from the Texas Capitol building and back for the Women’s March on Austin.

Not only women marched, of course; the event was held in solidarity with the Women’s March in Washington D.C., which itself drew a crowd of hundreds of thousands, but was also meant to show support for women among other disenfranchised groups, and a wide variety of marchers showed up for the cause.

Tens of thousands of people—some news sources estimated as many as 50,000—showed up with signs, pink hats, costumes, and big voices for the peaceful march, which took place on a gorgeous, sunny day.

The initial crowd that amassed on the Capitol grounds was initially so large that it moved slowly and sometimes came to a halt as the group moved on to Congress Avenue, but soon the street, as well as the return route on Lavaca Street, was packed with a continuous flow of marchers.

The peaceful, festive crowd eventually returned to the Capitol and heard speeches and musical performances from former City Council Member Sheryl Cole, former state Senator Wendy Davis, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, singer-songwriter Gina Chavez, and anti-bullying activist Lizzie Velasquez, who is an Austin native.

It’s hard to appreciate the size of the crowd without seeing it, but luckily social media provides many, many visual testimonials: