(Minghui.org) The city of Oswego in Upstate New York on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario hosted the annual Oswego Harborfest from July 23 to 26, 2026.

The stunning lakeside scenery and the festival’s diverse array of activities drew visitors from across the United States.

Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the event all four days. They demonstrated the exercises, distributed information, and explained the facts about the persecution to passersby to introduce them to Falun Dafa and encourage them to sign a petition calling for the U.S. Senate to pass S.4009, the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.

Practitioners introduce Falun Dafa to people at the Oswego Harborfest July 23 to 26. (Minghui.org)

Many tourists are interested in learning the meditation. (Minghui.org)

The sight of practitioners doing the graceful exercises together to calming music prompted many tourists to stop and take photos. Practitioners explained that Falun Dafa is a high level cultivation method rooted in the Buddhist tradition and is based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Since its public introduction in 1992, the practice has spread to more than 100 countries and regions around the world, benefiting the minds and bodies of millions of its practitioners.

When visitors learned that such a peaceful cultivation practice has been subjected to ongoing persecution in China for the past 27 years, they were shocked, read the truth-clarification materials, and spoke at length with practitioners.

Ms. Chun Lan, who is originally from China, lives nearby. She said this was the first time she’d ever met a Falun Dafa practitioner who’d been persecuted in China.

By talking with the practitioner, she learned that Falun Gong practitioners in China are persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because they remain steadfast in their belief. Alarmed and angry, she said she had sincere respect for the practitioners’ long-standing perseverance in calling for an end to the persecution using peaceful means.

“We are fortunate to have come to the United States,” said Ms. Chun Lan. “This is now our home. Every Chinese person living in the United States has a responsibility to cherish this land, contribute to its development, and ensure that America continues to serve as a beacon of freedom and hope for the world.”

After understanding a bit about Falun Dafa, a 70-year-old local couple, Frank and Terry, complimented the practitioners for participating in community events. They hoped that more people who have been persecuted by the CCP would speak out about their personal experience so that more Americans could know about the harm of communism. They also said that they would encourage their church friends to write letters to the two US Senators from New York, urging them to support the passage of S.4009, the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.

A tourist named Tom said that he had tried meditation and had always been interested in it. When he learned that copies of Zhuan Falunwere for sale and that instructions for the exercises were being offered for free at the booth, he purchased the book and exclaimed, “This is what I have always been looking for.”

Visitors readily used their mobile phones to sign the online petition, urging their state’s senators to support the passage of Bill S.4009. People also said that they would share the petition link to encourage more people to help put an end to the CCP’s forced organ harvesting.