(Minghui.org) Hoboken is a small but densely populated town on the New Jersey waterfront, right across the river from Manhattan. The town is filled with young, educated professionals who work in New York City and commute back and forth across the river between Hoboken and New York.

Falun Gong practitioners from New York and New Jersey participated in the Hoboken Arts Festival on June 12, 2016, to raise awareness about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.

As the festival entrants were setting up, the weather suddenly turned cold and windy, and gusty winds almost blew many of the tents away. Some of the vendors actually packed up and left in the morning because the wind was so strong. However, the practitioners stayed, and maintained positive thoughts. The winds later died down and more people came.

Over the course of the day, practitioners folded over a hundred paper lotus flowers and gave them to visitors. Hundreds of flyers were given to people who were interested in learning more about the practice, and some joined in with the practitioners as they demonstrated the exercise movements.

The Hoboken Arts Festival is a yearly event organized by the city hall, and has an estimated attendance of about 40,000, most of whom are from Hoboken and the neighboring city of Jersey City.