(Clearwisdom.net) To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the Irish community held a large-scale parade in Ottawa, the capital of Canada on March 15, 2008. The Divine Land Marching Band, composed of 110 members from Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, made its first appearance in this St. Patrick's Day parade.
Divine Land Marching Band at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ottawa
The parade set off from the Ottawa City Hall, marching down Laurier Avenue West and Bank Street, and finally reached Lansdowne Park. The majestic music, neat costumes and lineup, and the graceful movements of the Divine Land Marching Band attracted the attention of spectators all along the parade route. Many cheered and clapped along with the music performed by the band.
The coordinator of the parade, Edwards Barry, had high praise for the Divine Land Marching Band. He said that he found the band to be fantastic, and said that the band stood out in the parade.Mr. Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Revenue, Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien, City Councilor Alex Cullen, David Keating of the Irish Embassy, and other VIPs participated in the parade. The CTV A Channel TV station and The Ottawa Citizen covered the parade.
The Divine Land Marching Band performed music on percussion, woodwinds and brass instruments. Conductor of the Divine Land Marching Band, Mr. Jiang Fan, told the reporter, "It's the first time that the Divine Land Marching Band has participated in the parade in Ottawa. The members of the Divine Land Marching Band are all Falun Gong practitioners. The band's participation in community activities is to provide more opportunities for mainstream society to get familiar with Falun Gong practitioners and to learn about Falun Gong. At the same time, it is also to enrich the diverse culture of Canada."
Mr. Jiang said that the Canadian Divine Land Marching Band was established in April 2004. There are 180 members now in Toronto. Nearly a hundred practitioners from Montreal and Ottawa joined in later. Though it has not been very long since the founding of the Divine Land Marching Band, all the members have worked very hard, and their technique has improved greatly. The Divine Land Marching Band has participated in 36 parades in Ontario. Last year, the band was honored with the highest award -- the President Award -- in Montreal during the National Day parade.
On March 16, the Canadian Divine Land Marching Band will participate in St. Patrick's Day parades in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and other cities.
