(Clearwisdom.net) On June 18-19, 2011, the Toronto chapter of the Divine Land Marching Band participated in parades held in three nearby cities. The Burlington Sound of Music Festival Parade started at 11:00 a.m. on June 18. The Brampton Flower Festival Parade began at 2:00 p.m. on June 18, and the Oshawa Multi-cultural Festival Parade was held the following day, June 19.
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"We are waiting for them every year"
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The Sound of Music Festival Parade in Burlington included marching bands from across Canada and the U.S. The parade kicked off from Central Park, and made its way through New Street and James Street to City Hall, and then turned north, marched along Brant Street and ended at Central High School.
What the Divine Land Marching Band passed by the viewing stand, the host introduced the band, saying "Divine Land Marching Band members are from Toronto. They are from different nationalities and have different cultural backgrounds. Most of the band members are Chinese, with age ranging from teenagers to seventies years old. All members are Falun Dafa practitioners. Falun Dafa is a cultivation practice follows the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It includes meditation and exercises. The music that the band performs includes “Fa Trumpets and Fa Drums Shake the World in Ten Directions,” “Delivery of Precious Gifts,” “Falun Dafa Is Good,” “Falun Holy King” and a Canadian song “The Maple Leave Forever”. The Divine Land Marching Band truly represents multiculture that the Canadians take pride in."
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The spectators warmly applauded and cheered. Mr. John Robinson and his wife were excited and shook the reporter's hands and said, "I saw them come to perform when I was 81 years old, now I'm 84 years old. We are waiting for them every year, because we love them, they are the best band. I hope to see them forever."
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Norman from Hong Kong and his friends were impressed by the outstanding performances by this Chinese band.
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Oshawa Fiesta Parade started at noon on June 19. There were more than 50 entries, including marching, steel and pipe bands, ethnic costumes, floats.
Mr. Russ Carter, general director of the grand parade said, "This year's parade attendance is the largest in so many years, it's up to 60,000." He said, "The Divine Land Marching Band's performance was outstanding. Wherever they went, the spectators gave them warm applauses, and shouted, 'Thank you!'."
Many Chinese Watch the Parade
Mr. Chen from Shanghai has been living in Canada for a few years. He said, "I admire them, they are remarkable. They haven't been suppressed even though they have been subjected to persecution so many years inside China. They have been doing increasingly well."
An elderly couple has immigrated to Canada for more than 50 years. The wife held the hands of the reporter and said, "I'm so moved, I saw the character 'Happiness' on the back of their costumes, I'm really delighted. I'm in my 70s, it's the first time I saw such a wonderful Chinese band."
"I can understand what they perform"
The theme of the Brampton Flower Festival Parade was flower, there were floats and bands. The Divine Land Marching Band was warmly welcomed by local people.
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Flower City resident Loseth (left) |
Loseth said, "It's really beautiful, it's the first time that I saw such a unique band. their costumes and colors are in tune with today's flower festival. The music is beautiful, too."
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Lynn said, "Their performance is phenomenal, exhilarating, the music is beautiful, and memerizing. My daughter said she could understand what they performed. We thank them for bringing the wonderfulness to Flower City. "
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Sheila said, "I know Falun Gong, and support them. Their band is my favorite."
It was very hot on June 18, after having participated in two parades, all members of the band were soaked with sweat, but they were still in high spirits.
Ms. Wang who is 74 years old plays clarinet in the band. She participated in all three parades. She said, "I can bear it, no problem at all. Actually it is also a test. Last week, the parade met with stormy rain; this week, the sun was burning in the sky, but neither of them dampened the enthusiasm of spectators. We also persisted until the end of each parade."
