(Clearwisdom.net) On October 2 and 3, 2004, the Salmon Days Festival was held in Issaquah, a city 15 miles from Seattle. There were about 700 booths and 150,000 visitors attending the festival. Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the festival parade and also had a booth. Many people came to know the facts of Dafa, including many Chinese people.

Practitioners participate in the parade for the fourth year in a row

The Salmon Days Festival began with a parade of 100 different entries. It was the fourth year that we participated in the parade, and our yellow exercise suits are well recognized. Several onlookers helped individual practitioners to find the Falun Dafa line-up position at the beginning of the parade. During the parade, the spectators enthusiastically applauded us.

Children learn how to fold paper lotus flowers and get to know Falun Dafa

During the two days of the festival, many people visited our booth. Issaquah and several other small cities nearby are emerging areas with many high-tech companies. Many Chinese people live there. We met an elderly man from China. He began to talk to us even before practitioners explained the facts of Falun Gong to him. He said, "Falun Gong. My fellow countrymen know that Jiang persecutes Falun Gong. We all know..."

An older couple who had come from China to visit their son passed by our booth. A practitioner talked with the elderly man and he called his wife over to come listen to the truth-clarification. He asked some questions and took some truth-clarification materials to take to his son's family.

Visitors listen to the truth-clarification and read the informational posters

Many children were attracted to the colorful folded paper lotus flowers and asked their parents to come over to learn how to make them. Many of the children were very attentive, even though some were only around 4 years old. A practitioner explained what Dafa is to a 5-year-old boy. Right then, a couple came up and the practitioner started to introduce Falun Gong to them. The boy said to the couple, "It's people doing exercises!" The children learned about the principles of Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance while making the paper flowers.

A 12-year-old Chinese-Vietnamese boy was attracted to our booth. While learning to fold lotus flowers, he shared his wish to become a monk. After asking questions about cultivation practice, he learned the first set of Falun Gong exercises and said he would read Zhuan Falun (1) online. Then he helped us to clarify the truth and teach others to fold the flowers. As soon as new visitors came, he told them the meaning of "Petals of Peace" and distributed flyers outside the booth. He brought candy to us as he saw that we did not have time to take meals. His parents had a Chinese food booth at the festival. Near the end of the event, he led a practitioner over to meet his mother and expressed his hope that his mom would bring him to participate in our other activity two weeks later.

October 8, 2004

(1) The book, Zhuan Falun, comprises the principal teachings of Falun Gong.