Australia: Easter Parade Host Commends Falun Dafa Practitioners for Delivering Kindness and Hope

(Minghui.org) Practitioners participated in the annual Bendigo Easter Fair parade on April 20, 2025. Bendigo is the fourth largest city in Victoria State and has a rich cultural heritage. The Bendigo Easter Fair started in 1817 and is one of the oldest community fairs in Australia. The celebration lasts four days over the Easter long weekend. The parade draws many families from Melbourne and surrounding cities, as well as overseas tourists, every year.

The Falun Dafa group in the parade caught much attention. Bendigo Mayor Andrea Metcalf said that the team was spectacular and, “It was great to see them!”

Practitioners participated in the annual Bendigo Easter Fair parade on April 20, 2025.Mayor Andrea Metcalf (first from left) has a group photo with practitioners before the parade.

Host Commends Falun Dafa Group

Mr. Raph Beh, who is Chinese and from Malaysia, has served in the Bendigo City Council for 20 years. He is a major events officer in the tourism department, and immigrated to Australia nearly 50 years ago.

He praised the Falun Dafa practitioners’ performance: “It’s a beautiful entry. The general public loves it because it’s so organized. The marching, the color, and the movement. So yes, it’s a very big favorite for the general public.”

Mr. Raph Beh, a major events officer in the Bendigo City Council.

As the celebration coordinator, Mr. Beh is responsible for coordinating the parade every year and is familiar with each group. He said that this year there are fifty groups participating in the parade, and the entire Easter celebration attracts about 60,000 spectators.

Regarding Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, he said, “I think it is important. And I think at the moment we can see that around the world, there’s a lot of conflict. So we want more love, more understanding, more compassion. That’s what is needed in this world right now.”

He said that when more people know about and cherish Falun Dafa’s values, the world will become better. He thanked practitioners for their effort to deliver such good messages.

He said, “I’m sure the general public appreciates you. Every year, they see your entry, and see that there’s a lot of love in it. There’s a lot of color, bright color, and hope. So I think it conveys all those messages, which is a part of the spirit of Easter.”

Rohan Johnson appreciates practitioners.

Rohan Johnson has a manufacturing business in Bendigo. He was a volunteer for a charity organization in the parade. He said he likes practitioners’ performance in the parade and encourages them to spread the messages of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. “These are great values. It’s great that you are getting the word out. Hopefully, it has an effect on people, and these virtues are taken on board by more people.”

Spectators Like the Practitioners’ Performance

Lauren Kennedy said she liked the practitioners’ performance.

Lauren Kennedy and her family drove three hours to watch the parade. She said about the Falun Dafa group, “It was so lovely. It was nice and colorful, and the children were beautiful, and they danced so well. You should be so proud.” “You did a fantastic job. Just the effort you put into the thought and the costumes and the floats has just been so well done. I really liked the little girl who was in the trailer. That was beautiful.”

About Falun Dafa’s values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, she said she was inspired, “It is so important in everyday life for everybody. Isn’t it? Everybody should have a little bit of all of that to make everyone’s life better and happier. I think it’s very important for the current world. The more people know about that, the world will become better. Absolutely. There’s so much hatred in the world, and people are very quick to anger because they don’t have patience. If everyone took a little bit of that away with them, the world would be such a beautiful place.”

Her husband owns a steel fabrication business. She stays at home with her son, who has autism. She said that following Falun Dafa’s values would benefit her family.

“It can definitely help me by staying centered and grounded, and be able to support my son who doesn’t have the understanding of any of those three words. I can help him by teaching him techniques on how he can gain more experience in those words.”

She said the values are also important for her husband’s company, “We’ve got six people in our business. We have to show kindness, support, and encouragement, and be nice people, because that way, people want to do business with you. If you’re a nice person and you have all those three words in you, it makes you more likable. You enjoy running your business more. You enjoy having staff. It just makes you an all-around good person.”

She said that from the practitioners’ performance, she felt energy and peace, and it was really nice to watch.

Bala Pasupuleti and his wife.

Bala Pasupuleti is a software engineer and works for a company in Melbourne. He said about the Falun Dafa group, “It was really nice and it’s so structured and it shows the culture.” He drove from Melbourne with his relatives and friends to spend the weekend there. They got an unexpected surprise and watched the parade. They had high praise for the Falun Dafa group.