(Clearwisdom.net)

On February 9, Falun Gong practitioners in Washington D.C. were invited to participate in the Chinese New Year parade along with some twenty local Chinese associations, Chinese schools and business institutions. They demonstrated the beauty of Dafa to thousands of residents and tourists. The annual grand parade was quite a significant event for the Chinese community. Many government officials attended, including the Mayor of Washington D.C., a representative from the White House committee for Asian Pacific descendants, the Washington D.C. Police Chief, and several representatives of Washington D.C. and Maryland legislatures. Many media outlets reported on the parade. On the next day, the Washington Post, one of the largest newspapers in the United States, published a color photo of Falun Gong practitioners dancing gracefully during the parade on the front page of the Metro section.

Despite the chilly weather of early spring, the practitioners went to Chinatown very early on the day of the parade to help the Chinese Community Center (the parade organizer) to decorate the streets. It was the third year that Falun Gong practitioners have participated in the Spring Festival parade. Falun Gong was not only the largest group but also provided distinguished volunteer work for the event. With some 500 colorful balloons, practitioners made a beautiful arch that added to the holiday atmosphere. The Minghui Chinese School had a booth during the parade to introduce Falun Gong to passersby, including Mayor Anthony Williams.

The parade started at 2 p.m. Lead by a banner reading "Falun Dafa" in golden letters with a blue background, 15 Falun Gong practitioners in Tang Dynasty dresses held baskets of flowers and color ribbons as they danced to beautiful Falun Dafa music. Wearing golden yellow practice suits, the practitioners demonstrated the exercises and showed an atmosphere of peace and beauty to the people of Washington D.C. The onlookers along both sides of the street were full of enthusiasm, as they captured the beautiful procession with their cameras. Several photographers followed the Falun Gong procession from start to finish. The dragon dance team composed of five western practitioners and Minghui School's young practitioners also received warm applause from the audience.

The parade concluded at about 3 p.m. The song "Falun Dafa Hao" resonated in the streets throughout the parade and brought our best wishes to everyone. Chinese Americans were especially excited upon seeing our parade procession and waved to us with warm smiles. Some Chinese onlookers inquired about the persecution of Falun Gong in China after the parade, and they thanked us for adding to the festiveness of the parade and making a good representation of Chinese people. A family from China asked us to take a photo with their daughter. Many westerners also invited Falun Gong practitioners to take photos with them after the parade and gathered information about Falun Gong before they left. Our dance team and dragon dance team were also invited to perform in front of the main stage.

In the evening, a dozen or so Dafa practitioners attended the New Year's party sponsored by the biggest local Chinese community association, the Meijing Chinese Consolidated Association. At the banquet attended by 500 guests, four western Falun Gong practitioners sang "For you we come" in Chinese on stage. Before the performance, western practitioner Brian told the audience the story of how Western practitioners went to Beijing to tell them the facts about Falun Gong in Chinese. The Western practitioners' moving story and the song performed from their hearts deeply touched everyone at the party and won their warm applause. The former president of the Meijing association expressed his appreciation for the Falun Gong practitioners' support to the association's work during his two years' tenure as president.

From the street decoration in the morning, to the parade in the afternoon, to the Chinese New Year party in the evening, wherever Dafa practitioners went, they brought Dafa practitioners' magnificent demeanor with them and showed the people with their actions the beauty of Dafa. We thank Teacher for bringing this great cultivation way to this human world, as the sounds of Falun Dafa will resonate forever in people's hearts.