On the 11th of September, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the annual
‘Springfest Parade’ and celebration activities for the third year in a row. The
organisers were so impressed with our float and activities the first year we participated
that they sent us an invitation to be part of these events for the last two years.
This is the Gold Coast’s only parade and attracts large numbers of people each
year. A newly designed float, together with our waist drummers, drew a lot of
attention. Our aim was to present to the people on the Gold Coast the beauty of
Falun Dafa, and our colourful display was certainly well received! The parade
route of nearly a kilometre in length gave many people an opportunity to take
in the goodness of Dafa. Hundreds of flyers and colourful paper lotus flowers
were shared with the onlookers and we could hear the many positive comments about
our procession as we went by – “They are peaceful people”.
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The
parade ended at the Rotary Park where many rides and activities were set up for
the children with numerous dancing and singing groups entertaining the crowds
on the main stage throughout the day. Dafa practitioners set up two gazebos, including
one for our ‘Petals of Peace’ display. This stall had a steady stream of interested
children and adults learning how to make lotuses and listening to the story about
little Fadu and her father’s death in China due to the ongoing persecution.
During
the afternoon, one of the local councillors came up and sincerely thanked the
“One World” singers for Falun Dafa’s participation in the parade. There
were many hundreds of people at the park throughout the afternoon, with many taking
flyers and finding out about the practice of Falun Dafa and the persecution happening
in China. Most people could not understand how such a peaceful and beautiful practice
could be suffering so cruelly at the hands of the Jiang Zemin faction in China.
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To
cap off the day, Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrated the exercises, several
dancers performed traditional Chinese dances and the “One World” singing
group sang two of their inspiring songs on the main stage. All were well received
by the audience and a number of people asked practitioners where the practice
sites were located so they could learn the exercises. A parent of a child from
a local primary school at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast invited our dancing group
to perform at an upcoming school function with a multi-cultural theme.
The
parade and activities at the Gold Coast’s ‘Springfest’ touched the hearts of many
people with the beauty and peaceful nature of Falun Dafa.
Posting date:
22/Sep/2004
Original article date: 16/Sep/2004
Category: Event
