Protestors say they want to talk about issues ranging from impeachment to peace, torture to Chechnya -- using the international media gathered for the summit to broadcast their concerns worldwide.
"The fact that the world press is going to be in attendance is the driving force," said Jamilla El Shafei, an organizer of the protest with the Kennebunk Peace Department, a peace organization formed just before a protest in Kennebunkport last August.
Organizers started spreading the word about Sunday's protest less than a month ago, when the Bush-Putin meeting was first announced.
Organizers and police say the combination of Internet postings, word-of-mouth and press releases could make the protest the largest ever in town, with predicted crowds of 2,000 to 3,000 people.
People are coming from as far away as Texas and Wisconsin, El Shafei said.
The protest, organized by Maine Impeach, the Kennebunk Peace Department and Maine Lawyers for Democracy, will call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Demonstrations in smaller towns like Kennebunkport often receive greater attention and can be more effective, said Danny Muller, director of Peace Action Maine.
Protests outside the White House are so common they are often ignored, he said.
Organizers have secured 11 buses to bring participants from Kennebunk High School to the Village Green in Kennebunkport throughout the morning and afternoon.
El Shafei has offered up her backyard as a campground on Saturday night, as has the Unitarian Universalist Church in Kennebunk.
Last year's protest drew approximately 600 people when Bush was in town for a wedding, and it occurred without problems, said Kennebunkport Police Chief Joseph Bruni.
Bruni has worked closely with local organizers for this protest and said the town will respect the free speech rights of the demonstrators, though he is concerned about outside groups causing problems.
El Shafei said organizers are discouraging civil disobedience and arguments with counterprotestors and will use members of Maine Veterans for Peace, which does nonviolence training, to keep crowds in check.
The Maine Republican Party is not aware of or planning any counterdemonstrations, according to chairman Mark Ellis.
Muller, who has participated in demonstrations across the nation, said it's a good tactical decision for local police to work with protestors during such events. Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New York City faced lawsuits stemming from pre-emptive arrests during large protests in recent years.
"If you aren't cooperative, it can be a really bad move on the financial end," he said.
Despite a wide variety of views expected Sunday, Deborah Gordon, a protest organizer with Maine Impeach, said impeachment will be the central message.
Speakers will include David Swanson, from afterdowningstreet.org, an organization pushing for impeachment of Bush and Cheney; John Kaminski, president of Maine Lawyers for Democracy; and Melida Arredondo from Gold Star Families, a peace organization of those who lost loved ones in Iraq.
The march has already received international attention, said Gordon, who has done interviews with the press in Moscow, London and Toronto.
Herb Hoffman, a member of Maine Impeach who has been helping out with the presidential campaign of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, believes Sunday's event could bring the impeachment movement more into the mainstream.
Kucinich has filed articles of impeachment on Cheney, though Democratic leadership in Congress has not endorsed such a move.
"The number of people turning out and being willing to...
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