(Clearwisdom.net) February 21 was a busy Saturday for Falun Gong practitioners in Dallas. They participated in two local communities' Chinese New Year celebrations and brought the beauty of Falun Dafa to more people.

The All Asian American Chamber of Commerce (AAACC) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area held a Chinese New Year celebration party at noon time at the Garden Restaurant located in the Fort Worth Japanese Gardens. Asian people from different circles and some local government officials were invited to join the party. Over the past few years, local Falun Gong practitioners have participated in several events organized by the AAACC and provided assistance. The President of AAACC, Ms. Judy Wang said, "Falun Gong practitioners are extraordinary. What they have done touched me deeply, because they are not money-driven; instead, they are very spiritual. They have offered to assist us in many ways." This time, Ms. Wang especially invited us to join their celebration again.

Several practitioners from cities nearby attended the party and gave performances, including a dance solo "Mermaid," a group dance "Travel between Heaven and Earth," and a Falun Gong exercise demonstration. Their performances drew people's interest and won warm applause. During the lunch, practitioners chatted with people sitting by their sides and introduced Falun Gong to them. A Taiwanese lady said that she read many articles about Falun Gong and also watched some video programs about Falun Gong. However, she was not sure about whether the persecution is really happening in China. A practitioner then related her mother's plight to the lady, saying that her mother, a 69-year-old emeritus professor of physics is still imprisoned in a labor camp in China simply because she practices Falun Gong. The practitioner then told the lady more stories about how practitioners improved their health and moral standard through practicing Falun Gong and why they would not give up their belief even under the harsh persecution. The lady was so touched that she wanted to read Falun Gong books. When the practitioner presented her own copy of Zhuan Falun to the lady, the lady was very happy and said, "This is the greatest reward that I received today!"

Dance solo "Mermaid"	Group dance "Travel between Heaven and Earth"	Falun Gong exercise demonstration

Besides a large Chinese population, there is also a considerable Vietnamese population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Local practitioners have also tried different ways to introduce Falun Dafa to this community. Some Vietnamese practitioners make radio programs and have them regularly broadcast in the local Vietnamese radio station. On the evening of February 21, a few hundred Vietnamese people held a New Year celebration party in the City of Richardson where a large number of Chinese people reside. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the celebration and performed a Tang Dynasty Fashion Show and demonstrated Falun Gong exercises.

Tang Dynasty fashion show	Demonstrating Falun Gong exercises.

The master of ceremonies introduced this group of special performers in Vietnamese, saying, "They are Falun Gong practitioners from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese cultivation practice. Because it is based on the principles of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance', it attracted more than 100 million people all over the world to practice it. Because it is so popular, the former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin felt jealous and started persecuting the practitioners...."

Three female practitioners dressed in elegant Tang Dynasty clothing performed a dance. They were warmly received by the audience. Then several practitioners dressed in yellow exercise uniforms demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises. During their demonstration, a practitioner explained each set of these exercises to the audience and said that all people are welcome to go to local practice sites to learn and practice the exercises. She told the audience that all Falun Gong activities are open and free of charge. In the end, she told the audience that they could receive beautiful bookmarks written in Vietnamese from the front desk. She wished all a healthy and happy New Year!

Two days later, a Vietnamese practitioner said that she received many phone calls from people who wanted to know more about Falun Gong. Some expressed their wishes to learn the exercises.