(Clearwisdom.net) Bustling with activity, the 2004 Yunlin International Puppet Theater Festival was held on July 9, 2004. Falun Gong practitioners from central Taiwan participated in the opening ceremony of this international cultural festival. The waist drum team started off with a street performance, and then practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises at Douliu City Culture Center Square, attracting much attention from the audience.

Waist drum team made up of Falun Gong practitioners

Waist drum team made up of Falun Gong practitioners

Exercise demonstration by Falun Gong practitioners, with audience members following along. Falun Gong practitioners' movements created a peaceful field

First program of the Opening Ceremony of the International Puppet Festival -- Falun Gong Exercise Demonstration

Marching and drumming proudly, the waist drum team was a crowd favorite. As soon as we entered the starting point of the street performance at the Douliu Train Station, we attracted everyone's attention. The festival sponsor put our eye-catching drum team at the beginning of the parade, and we began the procession at 4:30 p.m. sharp. The song "Falun Dafa is Good" reached every corner of Douliu City along with the waist drum team.

The waist drum team members came from Taizhong, Yunlin, and Nantou. All fifty performers wore golden practice suits. The cheerful music and drum rhythms won the local people's appreciation, and the crowd was packed along both sides of the street. People smiled pleasantly and watched the Falun Gong practitioners' performance.

Many Falun Gong practitioners followed the waist drum team. They distributed Falun Dafa introduction booklets, as well as information about free seminars in Yunlin County. With great interest, a gentleman who was dining at the snack booth asked for practice site information for Douliu City after receiving the Falun Dafa materials and music CD. He said that he couldn't believe such a wonderful practice was free of charge.

At around 6:30 p.m., all of the parade teams reached the ending point -- the Douliu City Culture Center. The demonstration of the five sets of Falun Gong exercises was the first program to be performed. A Falun Gong practitioner representative briefly introduced the exercises and exposed the Jiang regime's persecution against Falun Gong. Then the exercise demonstration began.

Wearing golden practice suits, the practitioner maintained a serene expression, and the whole square was quiet. The melodious exercise music was far reaching, and the scene was calm and dignified. The audience watched intently. Many audience members imitated the practitioners' movements right away. A couple whose last name is Wu said, "We've heard of Falun Gong's mental and physical health benefits for a long time, and today, as soon as we saw that it was such a relaxed and elegant practice, we couldn't help following immediately!"

The crowd did not start to leave until the Falun Gong exercise demonstration was over. It was a beautiful ending for this activity of Dafa-promotion and truth-clarification.