Students organized the event, which included a march from the North Park Blocks to Pioneer Courthouse Square where a rally featured speakers, a performance by rock band Portugal.

[5] The event followed the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which many media outlets described as a possible tipping point for gun control legislation.

[13] Local student organizers included: Eliana Andrews; Alyssa Diaz;[14] Zoe Dumm; Alexandria Goddard;[15][16] Finn Jacobson; Calum Nguyen;[17] Sophie Rupp;[18] Ryan Tran; Kien Truong;[19] Tyler White;[20] and Ellie Younger.

The agency and event organizers also encouraged attendees and other downtown visitors to use public transit and to expect delays in the vicinity of the march route.

[15][21][33] At Pioneer Courthouse Square, organizers held a moment of silence and rang a bell 17 times to commemorate victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Starting around 11:30 am,[16] eight local students ranging in age from grades 8 to 12 delivered speeches and performed songs and poems advocating gun control and school safety.

[22] Willamette Week said "tens of thousands" of people were in attendance and described the crowd as "massive and diverse", consisting of "families, teachers, grandparents and groups of students of all ages".

[16][19] Also in attendance were 15 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School alumni living in Portland and teachers from Umpqua Community College, where nine people were killed in a mass shooting in 2015.