Occupy Durham carried on through the week at CCB Plaza, with a handful of demonstrators maintaining a constant presence and larger numbers turning out for "general assemblies" each noon and night.

"It's going good," said Charlie Soeder, who held a sign Thursday afternoon inviting passing motorists on Chapel Hill Street to honk their horns in sympathy. Many did.

"We've got a core group kind of holding down the fort," said Gabriel Baldasare, at the corner of Chapel Hill and Corcoran streets with a sign advertising the next assembly on one side and "Spread democracy at home" on the other.

The nighttime assemblies have been well attended, he said, but he and the other mostly young occupiers would like to have more participation by older folk - especially those with past experience in demonstrating and grassroots organizing.

The demonstration, in sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York and similar events around the country, began last Sunday with about 175 people - a handful setting up tents that night for long-term stays.

On Monday, city authorities ordered the tents removed, but City Manager Tom Bonfield and City Attorney Patrick Baker told a delegation of protesters who complained at City Hall that they could remain on the plaza as long as they liked.

"The plaza is open 24 hours a day; it's just not a campsite," Bonfield said. "So you can stay, congregate, sit in chairs, sit on the ground, whatever your heart's content."

Demonstrators took their tents down but, taking Bonfield and Baker at their word, a few demonstrators have spent nights there in the open, despite midweek rain and a cold snap.

"It was fun," said Baldasare, who stayed the night on Wednesday. "Once I got in my sleeping bag it wasn't cold at all." And there have been no more conflicts with city authorities.

On Thursday, a colorful "Occupy Durham" banner hung between two trees, and a folding sign said, "Fight Crime Close Your Bank Account." Otherwise, aside from Baldasare and Soeder with their signs, there was little indication of a demonstration in progress.

Still, as the occupation continued to varying degrees day by day, occupiers kept in touch with their sympathizers and each other via Facebook ( on.fb.me/pbQvds) and Twitter ( @OccupyDurham), and acknowledged food and drink donations from downtown bakeries and a donation of toothbrushes from a passing motorcyclist.

According to its website ( occupydurham.org), Occupy Durham is creating committees on taxes, housing and various other issues, including one called "Committee to End Corporate Personhood."

Daytime workshops on art, yoga, conflict resolution and other subjects have been suggested.

"They're doing a lot of good things," said David Harris, president of the Durham People's Alliance political-action group.

PA has no formal connection with Occupy Durham and has taken no position on the demonstration or its still-vague agenda, he said, but PA members have been attending some of the assemblies to keep in touch with what's going on there.

"We're interested in what they're doing," Harris said. "They've had some pretty good discussions; they keep meeting and moving forward."