(Clearwisdom.net) On May 29, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from the greater New York Area and Connecticut participated in the sixth Asian American Heritage Festival in Westchester County.
In the morning, practitioners in exercise suits and traditional Chinese costumes set up a tent and hung a large banner reading, "Falun Dafa is Great." From morning to dusk, streams of visitors stopped in front of the Falun Gong booth. Some practitioners distributed truth clarification materials, some patiently explained the facts about Falun Gong to tourists, some taught children to fold paper lotus flowers, some demonstrated the exercises and some taught the exercises, while others provided information about practice venues and times.
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There was a large group of tourists at the festival from Mainland China. Some of them listened attentively to practitioners explaining the facts about the persecution, and most of them were friendly and accepted materials from practitioners.
In the afternoon, practitioners performed the wonderful Lion Dance, the Dragon Dance, and performed other dances and exercise demonstrations on the central stage of the festival. The audience gave them warm applause.
Especially after the conclusion of the exercise demonstration, the audience applauded loudly. Some shouted out, "Wonderful!" Some gave a thumbs-up gesture, some pressed their hands in front of their chests to show respect, some followed along with the movements, and some especially stopped their cars and expressed their praise.
The annual Asian American Heritage Festival was jointly held by the Westchester County Government and the Organization of Chinese Americans. Falun Gong practitioners participated in this activity for the third time. In the previous year's participation, the Falun Gong booth was the focus of attention. Last year, practitioners performed their wonderful programs in the rain, winning high praise from the sponsors, who invited them to participate the next time. On April 7 this year, the Westchester County Council had a meeting with Falun Gong practitioners and learned about the brutal persecution in China. They issued an award for Falun Gong practitioners and commended the practitioners as "A group of people devoting their time and gifts to the community's well-being." The chairman of the Organization of Chinese Americans saw the award displayed in front of the booth and learned about the County Council's issuing the award for Falun Gong, and showed his admiration.