(Clearwisdom.net) Ekka is the most important festival in Queensland with over 130 years of history. It is a yearly, ten-day celebration. The number of visitors has increased yearly, with more than 600,000 tourists participating in the festival this year. Falun Gong practitioners in Queensland were invited to perform at Ekka 2006. Seeing the sea of people, practitioners were pleased, because it gave more people with the opportunity to learn about Falun Gong.

Exercise demonstration and performances won a round of applause

Practitioners performed twice each day. Everyone cooperated, and wholeheartedly exerted themselves to make sure the performances went smoothly. On August 13, the fourth day of practitioners giving performances at Ekka, the audience came from all directions, with many people for the first time seeing the Falun Gong exercise demonstration. Practitioners also gave performances composed by Falun Gong cultivators.

Some in the audience expressed their appreciation after watching the wonderful Falun Gong performances, "I feel they are so peaceful and harmonious, and the Falun Gong music is so beautiful."

Falun Gong practitioners won continuous applause. A western man attending with his whole family said, "It is first time for me to watch Falun Gong's wonderful performance. I thought Falun Gong was a human rights organization and only distributes their fliers." He said that he would examine the website to gain a deeper understanding of Falun Gong.

Some students from mainland China saw the performances and said, "Quick, look, Falun Gong!" They watched the performances attentively and left while in deep thought.

The activities at Ekka are mainly to display agricultural and industrial products. Many other entertainment activities have been added each year, including many cultural events. The local government makes use of the festival to celebrate the achievements gained during the year, and gives everyone one day to celebrate the festival.