(Clearwisdom.net) On June 5, 2004, Falun Dafa practitioners from Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada participated in Portland's annual grand "Starlight Parade," the highlight of Portland's Rose Festival. This is the second time practitioners have participated in this grand event.
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All practitioners who participated in the parade coordinated very well in preparing, even though the preparation time was short. Before the parade, the practitioners' dance rehearsal and group practice attracted many passersby. Some asked for information about Falun Gong and practice sites, some took photos with practitioners, while some happily accepted paper lotus flowers from practitioners.
At 9:00 p.m., the practitioners' group joined the parade. At the front and end of the Falun Dafa procession, practitioners displayed large banners reading "Falun Dafa," "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," and "The World Needs Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." Accompanied by gentle music, the crowd experienced the uniqueness of the practitioners' elegant dancing, delightful lotus lanterns, noble Tang-attire dancing, as well as the beautiful fan dance. Though the weather wasn't so good, there were still many people on the sidewalks on both sides of the street. Applause and shouts of approval sounded again and again from the spectators, who repeatedly exclaimed "Beautiful!" Some spectators, who must have felt practitioners' strong energy field said: "What great energy!" Besides the parade organizers' introduction, practitioners also used a microphone during the parade to introduce Falun Dafa and the persecution in China to the spectators.
After the parade, many spectators told practitioners: "Your parade procession was magnificent! Thank you very much." Oregon's largest newspaper, The Oregonian, mentioned the participation of Falun Gong practitioners in a special report about the parade the next day. Practitioners estimate that tens of thousands of spectators and hundreds of thousands of TV viewers witnessed and experienced the beauty of Falun Dafa.
