Falun Gong practitioners participate in the largest Western US
parade on Independence Day
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 4, 2006, Huntington Beach in Southern
California held its 102nd Independence Day Parade. The famous parade
is the largest west of Mississippi River. The theme of this year's parade was
"Freedom for All", and more than 300 groups participated.
Approximately 250,000 spectators watched along the parade route and at least
three million watched it on TV.
Falun Gong practitioners participate in the largest Western US parade on
Independence Day
Martial arts team |
Float in ship form |
Warm audience asks for Falun Gong truth-clarification flyers |
Two spectators imitate the hand gestures of practitioners doing an
exercise demonstration on the float |
The parade was held on Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street. The procession
included floats, bands, veterans, and various performances. The parade route was
4 miles long and lasted more than three hours. The parade started at 10 a.m.
Many people started to wait along the route at 6 a.m. and crowds were lined up
before 9 a.m.
Falun Gong practitioners participated in the parade for the third year. This
year, the Falun Gong's procession included a marching band, martial arts team,
dance team and float. It was one the largest groups in the parade and was the
only one consisting of mainly Chinese people.
Warm audience
San Francisco's Falun Gong "Divine Land Marching Band" participated
in the Independence Day parade for the first time. They played, "America
the Beautiful" and "Falun Dafa is good". Their excellent order
was very eye-catching. The audience applauded and waved their hands, and some
started to dance accompanying the music. Some took photos and videos.
The martial arts team wascomposed of more than 20 Falun Gong practitioners
from southern California demonstrating traditional Chinese culture. There were
also a few western practitioners on the team.
Celestial maidens and a beautiful float demonstrated the grace of
"Truth-Compassion-Tolerance." The end of the float in ship form was
decorated with huge pink lotus. On the head of the float were banners reading
"Falun Dafa" and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance", fluttering in
the wind. Several practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises on the
float.
Many people exclaimed, "Wonderful!" Some spectators had photos
taken with the float in the background when the float stopped during the
procession.
