(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners participated in the annual Sidewalk Festival in Sioux Fall, South Dakota on Sept. 8, 2012. As in the past ten years, they introduced Falun Gong to the public. More people wanted to learn Falun Gong than in any previous year.

 
A Falun Gong practitioner introduces Falun Gong

 
A young practitioner introduces Falun Gong at Sidewalk Festival

 
A young practitioner introduces Falun Gong

Since 1964, the annual Sidewalk Festival has been promoting the arts and multiculturalism. More than 250 groups from ten states participated in the festival this year. It featured fine art, folk art, crafts and food vendors, as well as children's entertainment and an outdoor concert.

Falun Gong practitioners set up their booth early in the morning and started demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises. People continually came to the booth. Practitioners told them about Falun Gong, its benefits and the brutal persecution in China. Those who heard about the persecution said it was completely irrational to persecute such a great cultivation practice.

Many people showed great interest in the Falun Gong exercises. Fifty of them left their contact information so that they could receive notice of the upcoming free workshop. Several learned the exercises on the spot.

 
Visitors at Sidewalk Festival learn Falun Gong exercises

A man who had been to China told Falun Gong practitioners even though his group of Americans were treated very well in China, they eventually found out they were secretly monitored. They had to be very careful. Some did things the CCP didn't like. It wasn't anything bad, but their visas were cancelled. He had personally experienced the wickedness of the CCP. He knew about Falun Gong and thought it was great. He had been trying to get more information, but different things seemed to block him. He asked Falun Gong practitioners to teach him how to do the exercises. Even though he only had a few minutes before he had to leave, he felt very relaxed from the few minutes of exercise. He went back to the booth before the end of the festival and did exercises together with Falun Gong practitioners. He felt it was an extraordinary exercise. He said he would definitely go to the workshop.

A journalist and writer told Falun Gong practitioners she completely believed the persecution was true, because she was an immigrant from Russia and had been persecuted by the Russian Communist Party. She asked for contact information because she wanted to find out more about China. There were some Chinese in her university, but she found they looked afraid when she mentioned the Communist Party. They simply said China was pretty good now. But she knew China had many problems. She followed up with Falun Gong practitioners a couple of days later to learn more about the freedom of press in China.