Barrie is a city about 100 kilometers north of Toronto and located by Lake Simcoe. On January 28, 2001, over 30 Toronto practitioners drove to Barrie to celebrate "Falun Dafa Week".

During the celebration, practitioners, all dressed in yellow Falun Dafa sweatshirts, demonstrated the five sets of exercises. A Western practitioner introduced the wide spreading of Falun Dafa around the world and the persecution happening in China. Practitioners also showed the video "Falun Gong True Story" to the audience to give them a better idea of the current situation of Falun Dafa.

At the end of the ceremony, practitioners answered many questions from the audience, such as the meaning of the Swastika symbol, the difference between Falun Dafa and other Qigong practices, and the reasons for the Chinese government's crackdown of Falun Gong. After the ceremony, a dozen people stayed to learn the exercises, some people signed the petition letters to show their support, and some even purchased Dafa books and inquired about information about practice site.

The ceremony was covered by the local media, including a local TV station.