by Melbourne Falun Dafa Practitioners
A small party of 13 practitioners set out from Melbourne to Bendigo to take part in the Bendigo Torchlight Parade 2003. By the time we got everything loaded up it was 1pm before we left Melbourne.
It was quite an exciting adventure for we encountered some tribulations in the process – such as not being accepted as an entry because we were considered political, and having difficulty in finding the correct highway, and driving around trying to find our motel. Undeterred by these minor xinxing tests, we eventually made contact with each other and the motel where we were to stay for the night. It was by then 4pm, and we were supposed to have our entry ready by 5:30 pm.
However with great fortitude and forbearance we rallied for the occasion. Quickly dressing in costume, we proceeded from the motel with the lotus float and 2 of the cars in slow procession to what we thought was the way to the assembly point for the parade. The driver practitioner in the leading car was given many conflicting directions as to which street to take etc. but in spite of this he showed great tolerance.
At one stage 4 vintage cars were happily following us thinking that we knew the way to the parade. They eventually left us when we turned into a dead end street, by which time they realised that we had no idea where we were going. Somehow we got to the right spot and miraculously we got it all together in time, and our entry looked really special. It consisted of 2 practitioners holding a Falun Dafa banner, then another holding a placard with the words “Best Community Entry”. (The judging of the entries was done just prior to the start of the parade) This was followed by a truck on which was set up the modern knitted sculpture of “Sails” which was created by a local Romanian artist practitioner. It was very effectively lit up and glistened gold and silver and blue, and it symbolised sailing into a golden future.
Following this was our big lotus float powered by 2 bicycles and on top of this a big lotus shaped lantern lit with battery lights so that it glowed in the evening light. We left off the covers to give the appearance of the lotus floating through the air. This also meant that the bicycle riders could be seen which created much interest with the crowd. On either side of the lotus and just in front, were 2 girls holding smaller lotus lanterns. Behind the float were 3 young boys beautifully dressed in rich Chinese clothing and each holding a hand crafted lantern and bring up the rear were 3 practitioners also dressed in Chinese clothing with hand made lanterns.
The parade began in spectacular fashion with about 12 fire engines activating their emergency lights and then the sound of a hooter. In the past this parade was just for fire departments to compete with flaming torches and precision marching, but in more recent times the rest of the community have been encouraged to take part by lighting up their Gala Parade floats.
What a wonderful evening it was! – a starry night, no clouds, no wind and a large moon – a perfect backdrop to the many colourful floats. Crowds of people lined the streets, many sitting in chairs brought with them, and many standing. The most outstanding feature of this parade were the crowds and crowds of little children and they just loved every minute, clapping and waving enthusiastically . The energy was really great and what a wonderful way to present Dafa and show that we are part of the community! Not sure how many entries there were but it could have been about 100. At the end of it was a huge section put in by the Chinese community of Bendigo with lion dancers and I think the famous dragons and then a fireworks display. Then we went back to the motel to pack up, to eat tea and cake, to read a chapter and then to sleep ‘perchance to dream’.
We take part in The Monday Gala Parade in Bendigo: Congratulations to everyone for we won the “Best depiction of the Theme”. This means that our entry was the best representation of “golden past, golden future”. I am sure that there were plenty of trials and tribulations and tests but some one else is writing the story about this parade.
Posting date: 30/Apr/2003
Original article date: 28/Apr/2003
Category: Events
