(Clearwisdom.net) On May 13, 2004, to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day and to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction, Falun Dafa practitioners in Calgary, Canada gathered at Olympic Plaza and held group practice and truth-clarification activities.


Practitioners practice the exercises together


A City Official welcomes Falun Gong practitioners


Explaining the facts of Falun Gong to passersby


Explaining the facts of Falun Gong to passersby


Passersby look at the posters intently


Distributing balloons with the words "Falun Dafa is Good"

Olympic Plaza is a busy area located across from Calgary's City Hall. There are many office buildings nearby, with many people coming and going. May 13 was also the day of a big hockey game for the Calgary team, so hockey fans and a performance by a popular singer in the adjacent amphitheatre made the plaza even busier. The Falun Gong practitioners' exercise demonstrations, a photo exhibition of the "Journey of Falun Dafa," beautiful banners and colorful balloons all caught the attention of many passersby.

At the beginning of the activity, a City official came out to see the practitioners and expressed her welcome and good wishes. She hoped that Falun Gong practitioners would come to practice often to promote multi-cultural exchanges.

In clarifying the truth to passersby, the practitioners felt that more and more people not only learned about the persecution, but they also understood how the persecution harmed everyone and grasped the significance of opposing the persecution. They also expressed support for Falun Gong. A tourist from the Midwestern US said that Falun Gong practitioners' exposure of the persecution was a battle between good and evil. A student who had received truth-clarification literature before said she hoped to get more petition postcards in order to collect signatures among her classmates. Some passersby offered suggestions to the practitioners on how to spread the truth to the local communities and other organizations.

During the activity, two practitioners went over to the hockey fans and met the Mayor. After that, the practitioners went to talk to a group of Chinese people, who were pleased to know that the practitioners were from China. However, when they learned that they were Falun Gong practitioners, one Chinese person appeared a little hostile and did not want to listen, and even tried to get his companion away. His companion did not budge, but instead listened with interest and asked many questions.

Through this activity, the practitioners felt that along with the progress of Fa-rectification, more and more people came to understand the facts. For those few people who do not want to know Dafa, the practitioners will explain the facts to them in a more comprehensive and compassionate way.