Falun Gong Stands Out in San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade (Photos)

By a Falun Dafa practitioner from San Diego

(Clearwisdom.net) On December 29, 2005, residents of San Diego celebrated the holidays with a grand Big Bay Balloon Parade. This is the largest balloon parade in America.

The Big Bay of San Diego is one of the most visited tourist sites. With its blue sky, inviting tide and white sails, it is the must-go place for most tourists. It was a sunny day and the parade teams began to assemble as early at 8:00 a.m.. By 10:00 a.m., the parade started. Thirty-three large colored balloons floated in the air; 15 bands and cheerleaders, as well as funny clowns turned Harbor Drive into a bustling and festive place.

Along the streets from the port to seaport village, about 100,000 spectators watched the parade. The parade was broadcast live on local and national television. The Falun Gong procession stood out among all the parade teams. Their contingency was led by two banners reading, "Falun Dafa is Good" and, "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance." Next came the waist drum team with all the drummers dressed in golden yellow exercise suits and yellow headbands, carrying their bright red drums. Behind the waist drum team was the Celestial Maiden dance team. The young Falun Dafa women practitioners were dressed in colorful costumes like those in the Dunhuang Murals and danced elegantly to the music. The spectators raised their cameras and camcorders to capture the beautiful scene.

The Big Bay Balloon Parade is regarded as the most prominent parade of San Diego. All participating teams were selected under stringent requirements. The Falun Gong team had participated in a parade in Hollywood on November 27 and was the only Chinese culture team in that parade. Because of its outstanding performance, the TV station gave it three minutes of live broadcast to the whole nation. After that, the Falun Gong team received invitations to some important invitation-only parades. This is the first time that Falun Gong was invited to take part in the Big Bay Balloon Parade.

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