BOSTON -- Groups that oppose everything from the cost of prescription drugs to globalization plan to converge here Oct. 3 for the first presidential debate between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

ON THE WEB Boston Mobilization for Survival: www.bostonmobilization.org Ralph Nader: www.votenader.org/

One group, Boston Mobilization for Survival, promises street festivals, alternative debates and "nonviolent direct action designed to disrupt or shut down the debate."

Other planned events include a rally by Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and a bus ride by seniors protesting the cost of prescription medicines.

Myrtle Jackson, a retired nurse from Lynn, said candidates have to pay more attention to the plight of the elderly. She said her monthly bill for medication is $500 but while the state helps cover the expense, not every senior is as lucky.

"It's a choice of whether you eat, pay your rent or buy your prescription drugs," said Jackson, a member of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council.

The group plans a "senior summit" on the eve of the debate and will gather outside the offices of a local pharmaceutical company to protest the "obscene profiteering" of drug manufacturers, organizers said.

Other groups hope to highlight a broader palate of issues, from the death penalty to homelessness to "corporate greed."

Boston Mobilization for Survival, working as a clearinghouse for many of the protesters, will stage a "Freedom for Sale" rally on Boston Common on the afternoon of the debate.

Organizers also hope to close down streets near the debate itself, which is to be held at the campus shared by the University of Massachusetts and the John F. Kennedy Library in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Green Party activists another goal -- getting their candidate on stage with Bush and Gore.

The Commission on Presidential Debates bars participation by third-party candidates who fail to get at least 15 percent support in national polls. Nader's support is in the single digits.

His backers plan a rally at the FleetCenter two days before the debate to rouse support and draw attention to the lack of access by candidates, such as Nader and the Reform Party's Pat Buchanan.