(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from Orange County, New York State participated in the Monticello Bagel Festival held by the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce on August 13, 2023. They were well received by the local people. 

Crowds of people attended the festival. More than 100 booths lined both sides of the road, and the Falun Gong practitioners’ booth was a popular stop for festival-goers. Practitioners introduced Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) to visitors and demonstrated the exercises.

Monticello Bagel Festival visitors learn about Falun Gong on August 13, 2023. 

A constant stream of people came by the Falun Gong tent. Many people took flyers about this peaceful meditation practice from China. From time to time, people stopped to talk with practitioners and asked for specific information. Practitioners told them that Falun Gong is a practice that has greatly changed and benefited hundreds of millions of people physically and mentally. 

Juan Lopez, vice president of the Mustang Club of Orange County, strongly agrees with the principles of Falun Dafa. The club will hold a charity car show in mid-October at the Boston Market to raise awareness about cancer prevention. He invited Falun Dafa practitioners to demonstrate the exercises and introduce the practice.

Jose Sanz, the owner of a 67-acre scenic area in Monticello, was drawn by Falun Gong’s peaceful exercises and the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. He invited Falun Gong practitioners to his venue to hold group exercises and introduce the practice to the public.

Festival Visitors Learn Falun Gong

A New York State trooper who is also a surgeon was interested in Falun Gong and said that he would go online to find a group practice site in his area.

Donald asks for more information about Falun Gong. 

A visitor named Donald told practitioners that he practiced Tai Chi and meditated. When he saw the Falun Gong booth, he was very interested and wanted to know how Falun Gong is different from Tai Chi. The practitioner told him that reading Falun Dafa books systematically would teach him how to cultivate. Donald listened carefully and said that he would learn more about Falun Gong after returning home.

A visitor learns the Falun Gong exercises. 

A young mother holding a little girl walked over and talked with a practitioner. She said she was from Goshen, the county seat of Orange County. She had seen practitioners doing the exercises on the lawn in Goshen, and she was impressed. The practitioner talked to her more about Falun Gong and the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution. The practitioner told her the principles of Falun Gong are Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. The young mother said that she would go to the group practice site to learn the exercises.

A man stopped in front of the booth and asked a practitioner how to practice Falun Gong. The practitioner taught him the first four sets of exercises. The man learned them carefully and said he felt energy from doing them. The practitioner suggested he read Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong. The man agreed and said he would read it at home.