(Minghui.org) A wide range of community events accommodate the desire of Manhattan residents and tourists to get outdoors to enjoy the autumn weather. Many had a chance to learn about the ancient meditation practice of Falun Dafa at two street fairs over the weekend: Fulton Street Market and Brazilian Day.

Fulton Street Market

Practitioners joined over 50 vendors on September 2 in Downtown Manhattan to celebrate the holiday weekend with the community.

Practitioners introduced Falun Dafa to people at Fulton Street Market on September 2, 2017.

While a group of practitioners demonstrated the five sets of gentle exercises, others explained to visitors how this holistic practice helps one improve health and relieve stress by applying the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in one's daily life.

Some asked about how to get started with the practice and were glad to hear about the various group practice sites where they could learn for free (all Falun Dafa activities and online materials are free of charge).

Many were appalled to learn that such a peaceful practice has been persecuted in China since 1999 and signed petitions calling for an end to the brutality, particularly the forced organ harvesting from living practitioners.

Brazilian Day

The Brazilian Day celebration was held in Little Brazil in uptown Manhattan on September 3.

After the drizzle stopped at noon, more pedestrians came to the event and many stopped at practitioners' booth, asking about Falun Dafa and its health benefits.

Practitioners attended Brazilian Day event in uptown Manhattan on September 3, 2017.

“This is amazing! I can feel a very strong energy here,” said a man named Mwamba as he watched practitioners demonstrate the exercises. After a practitioner showed him how to do the first, third, and fourth exercises, Mwamba said he liked them and would learn the rest at a later time.

He said he could not understand why such a good meditation system would be suppressed in China. He signed a petition calling for an end to the atrocities and wished the practitioners well.