On December 2, the annual Grand Christmas Parade was held at Gladesville near Sydney, Australia. Around 40 Dafa practitioners got there and participated in this special event.
The parade started at 9:30 AM. We walked among the others in the formation and our display was the most spectacular one. On top of our flowered float was a lotus flower plate that had a model of the book Zhuan Falun on it and was decorated with colorful balloons. Four practitioners spread a Falun Dafa banner while walking abreast of and behind the float. All practitioners were dressed in white or yellow T-shirts printed with "Falun Dafa" and "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance". Along the way, they distributed information pamphlets that introduced Falun Dafa to people watching the parade. They also gave away balloons printed with "Falun Dafa is Good". The balloons were especially popular among children.
The parade ended at 10 o'clock. Following the parade was show time for many stage programs conducted by various social groups and schools. At this time quite a few of the local residents stopped by our booth to look at picture exhibits and inquire about the schedule of nearby practice sites while some other people watched the exercise teaching video on TV.
We were given 20 minutes to demonstrate the five sets of exercises on stage. 16 practitioners moved in a slow, relaxed and graceful manner following the music. A local city mayor was so attracted that she came to the front of the stage and watched our demonstration together with the show host. Both the show host and the director expressed their desire to try out and experience the exercises. .
On this gathering, a mayor from a nearby city accepted our gift of the book Zhuan Falun on behalf of the city council. The organizing committee secretary came to our booth to express their appreciation for our participation and invited us to attend the Grand Parade next year. The whole event finished by 3pm.
December 3, 2000