Queensland Falun Dafa Practitioners were honoured with an invitation from the Maroochy Shire Council to take part in their Centenary of Federation celebrations. We participated in two main events: Saturday evening's Lantern Parade and Sunday's parade and celebrations, which were presided over by the Mayor of Maroochy Shire in honour of all the volunteer groups in the Shire.

On the evening of December 8, 2001, Maroochy Shire, Queensland, Australia, hosted a huge lantern parade to highlight the Centenary of Federation celebrations. Falun Dafa practitioners were invited by the local council to have the honour of presenting the Chinese Dragon Dance -- the main attraction of the parade.

We felt this was a unique Hongfa activity, particularly in light of the council's recognition of Falun Dafa as an integral part of the local community. The Chinese woman (a non-practitioner) who was coordinating the dragon dance asked us if we could all wear the same clothing when carrying the dragon. We asked if it would be okay to wear our Falun Gong T-shirts, since we all had identical ones. She responded, "Yes, sure. Wear those!"

It was a privilege to be a part of these celebrations for the evening. Everyone was delighted, particularly the children, as our Chinese dragon danced and weaved through the crowd. We practitioners were outwardly participating in this community event, while in our minds and hearts holding righteous thoughts and rectifying the environment. As the dragon swept through the crowd, the one thing that stood out quite clearly was the back of our t-shirts which read, "FALUN GONG"!

Lighted 40-metre dragon weaving through the crowd

On Sunday, 9 December 2001, Falun Dafa practitioners of Queensland were honoured for their volunteer work in the communities of Maroochy Shire. For the past three years, volunteers have run free practice sites, beginning with one site on a Saturday morning and growing to 5 sites running multiple days. Further community involvement has included displays in local libraries, regular monthly displays and demonstrations on stage at a large local Shopping Plaza and participation in Nambour's Sugar Festival Parade. Practitioners have also taken part in Australia's Clean-up Day.

Early on Sunday we set up a stall with poster displays of Falun Dafa, provided handouts, including our SOS message, and set the scene for demonstrating the exercises during the day. This provided us with an opportunity to clarify what Falun Dafa is and the extent of the persecution of practitioners in China to a large number of local people as well as visitors to the area.

During the morning, we took part in the Volunteer's Parade through the streets of Cotton Tree, which allowed many people to see our large banners saying "Falun Dafa" and "Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance". This event concluded in front of the stage where local dignitaries were gathered for a ceremony recognizing all the volunteer groups in the community. The practitioners ended up being placed directly in front of the stage, where we held our banners of "Falun Dafa" and "Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance" for all to see. A number of speeches by dignitaries, including the final speech given by the mayor, Ms Alison Grosse, praised the volunteer groups present for their selfless contributions to the local community. At the end of the ceremony, a large banner depicting all the volunteer groups was unveiled in acknowledgement of the many hours these volunteer groups have devoted to serving the community. Falun Dafa Association of Australia was included near the top of the banner. After the ceremonies, a number of practitioners were able to renew acquaintances with the mayor and other supportive dignitaries and further promote the Fa to them.

A group of approximately 50 practitioners took part in the parade, holding colourful banners, balloons and flags, all giving the message of Truthfulness Compassion and Forbearance of Falun Dafa as the peaceful music "Pudu" touched the hearts of the crowd of onlookers.

Posting date: 12/29/2001
Original article date: 12/28/2001
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide

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