by Wollongong Falun Dafa practitioners
Falun Dafa Practitioners
from Sydney, Wollongong and the Southern Highlands gathered in Lang Park at South
Beach Wollongong on Saturday 23 October, to participate in the Viva la Gong festival
Grand Parade through the city and the Street Party in the Crown Street Mall.
Over
the last week most of the Sydney/Wollongong area has been inundated with rain
but on Saturday morning the sun rose high in the sky to provide a fine day for
what is the largest community activity on the South Coast of New South Wales Australia.
Practitioners all talked about how blessed we were to have this opportunity to
come out and take part in this community activity.
Of the 1000 strong participants
in the parade, there were over 100 practitioners including Traditional Korean
and Chinese costumes, Tang Dynasty Dancers, Chinese Drummers, the Minghui School
children in the Falun Dafa Boat and practitioners showing the five sets of exercises
on the back of one of the floats. The Falun Dafa banners were held high as the
practitioners paraded their way up through the streets where thousands of onlookers
cheered and applauded at the beauty and peacefulness of Falun Dafa and the Practitioners,
many stretching out their hands to receive the Falun Dafa flyers.
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This
scene is something that people in Wollongong have rarely seen before. In the parade,
our team was one of the most colourful groups.
The "Dafa boat"
was a big attraction for the crowd. With a golden "hull" of silk and
a large Falun emblem for a "sail", it held a crew of about twenty young
Falun Dafa practitioners dressed in colourful Ming dynasty costumes. In the crowd,
a little boy sitting on his father’s shoulders cried out "Little people!
Little people!" while pointing at the children waving in the boat. Another
said, "Wish I could sail in a boat like that!" It brought smiles to
the faces of many of the locals.
While our parade passed the main stage,
the commentator was so impressed that he kept saying "how beautiful the costumes
are".
The Viva la Gong festival is 9 days of music, art, dance, fashion,
film, sculpture, theatre, food and family fun. This is the 5th annual festival
of arts, culture and innovation and the second year that Falun Dafa has been invited
to participate. The next part of the activity we will participate in is the Family
Fun Day on Sunday 31 October where Falun Dafa Practitioners will have a stall
provided by the event organisers to show people about the practice of Falun Dafa,
Petals Of Peace awareness and the peaceful appeal to stop the persecution of Falun
Dafa Practitioners in China and throughout the world. Practitioners will also
give 2 performances on the stage to demonstrate the exercises of Falun Dafa.
Posting
date: 25/Oct/2004
Original article date: 24/Oct/2004
Category: Event
