(Minghui.org) The 31st Ocean County Columbus Day Parade & Italian Festival was held October 7 - 9, 2022 in Seaside Heights, a popular resort area in New Jersey. The festival was highlighted by the Columbus Day Parade on Sunday, October 9th. Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to participate in the parade and share traditional Chinese culture with the community. They distributed informational brochures to people along the route.
About 70 groups participated while more than 60,000 people lined the parade route, according to Michael Blandina, chairman of the parade committee. The parade included colorful floats, Italian and American flags, military brass bands, and musical performances. Falun Dafa practitioners’ waist drum band and exercise group were warmly greeted with applause and cheers. The day was a joyful celebration of traditional Italian culture.
Waist Drummers and Falun Dafa exercise demonstration group participated in the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
The Falun Dafa entry was the only Chinese group that day. Mr. Blandina said he was deeply impressed by the energetic pace of the waist drummers and their cheerful drumming and music, as well as exercise team’s graceful movements, “I like the Falun Dafa performances. I like the color of their clothes. I also like the way they present themselves to the public.”
Michael Blandina, chairman of the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee, thanked Falun Dafa practitioners for promoting traditional culture
Mr. Blandina also thanked practitioners’ promoting traditional culture. He said, “This is a great Chinese group. We hope that more of them will come every year. We want to express our support for them, just as they support us.”
Carol Greco, a retired teacher, said that she appreciates traditional culture and is very excited to see the Falun Dafa group. “They’re amazing!” she said. “Although I haven’t heard of (Falun Dafa) before, I’ll go and learn more about them.”
Retired teacher Carol Greco said she wanted to learn more about Falun Dafa.
Ms. Stacy Richmond, who works in a medical institution, said that she met Falun Dafa practitioners before. “They are very peaceful. I like watching them meditate a lot.”
Ms. Li, the head of the New York waist drummers group, said that this was the second year they were invited to participate in the parade. She said that Michael Blandina, the chairman of the parade committee, wanted to make the event richer, so he searched on the Internet. He was curious to see that there was a red Chinese team and a yellow Chinese team. He chose to invite the yellow team in the end. Ms. Li said, “I told him that he did the right thing. Because in the East, yellow or gold represents the Buddha school. Falun Dafa is a very traditional and advanced cultivation practice in the Buddha school.”
Background: What Is Falun Dafa?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.
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