(Clearwisdom.net) Lompoc, famous for being "the Capital of Flower Seeds," is situated on the seaside over 200 miles north of Los Angeles. It is a small town famous for producing flowers. The last weekend of June each year is the most jubilant day for the small town. They celebrate the harvest of flowers with various activities, and a large parade is always a part of the festivities.
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Though it took three hours to drive to Lompoc, considering people in that area may have never heard of Falun Gong, practitioners from Los Angeles applied for entry in the parade. This year's parade is the 52nd one. About four to five thousand people were crowded on the roadside of the small town to watch. More than a hundred groups participated in the parade. Los Angeles practitioners formed two groups: celestial maiden's group and waist drummers' group. Spectators constantly gave them applause and cheers. Waist drummers' group won the first place of "Award for Creation," and the celestial maiden's group won the second place of "Award for Parading Group."
After the parade, a local Chinese man brought his daughter with him to express his happiness to see a Chinese group participate in the parade. There are not many Chinese people in the area. He said that he could not imagine that China could suppress Falun Gong. He knew that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Many other local people also expressed that they could not believe that such a beautiful practice could be persecuted.
