(Minghui.org) Falun Gong (also know as Falun Dafa) practitioners from Toronto, Canada participated in the Sound of Music Festival Parade in Burlington and the Oshawa Fiesta Parade on June 17 and 18, 2017, respectively. Their procession was composed of the Tian Guo Marching Band, a decorated float, and the waist drum team.
The Tian Guo Marching Band in the Sound of Music Festival Parade in Burlington
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the exercises on the lotus flower float.
The waist drum team
The Tian Guo Marching Band in the Oshawa Fiesta Parade
The lotus flower float in the Oshawa Fiesta Parade
The waist drum team entertains in Oshawa.
Megan Goleski of the Sound of Music Festival Parade in Burlington, Ontario
Megan Goleski, one of the organizers of the Sound of Music Festival Parade in Burlington, was enthusiastic about the Falun Gong procession. She said that the band's music was wonderful, the float was beautiful and the presence of Falun Gong brought diversity to the festival.
Roland, one of the organizers of the Sound of Music Festival Parade
Roland, another organizer of the Sound of Music Festival Parade, commented about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, saying that the Chinese communist regime must stop the suppression immediately.
Will Prentice, a photographer from Whitby, Ontario
Will Prentice, a photographer from Whitby, passed by the location where Falun Gong practitioners were rehearsing. He paused to take photos. He said he was very familiar with Falun Gong. “Falun Gong's principle, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, is great. It tells people how to deal with daily life,” he noted.
Will remarked that the persecution in China is horrible, especially the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) state-sanctioned live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. He said, “No one has any reason to do live organ harvesting for profit. This is unpardonable. The perpetrators of the persecution must be brought to justice!”
Analyst Lori Carruthers (on right in front) and her family watch the parade in Oshawa.
Lori Carruthers, an analyst for a large company in Toronto, watched the Oshawa Fiesta Parade with her sister, parents, and husband. She said, “The Falun Dafa procession is absolutely beautiful! Their performance is fabulous. We all enjoyed them.”
Mary (right) from Italy and her husband (left)
Mary, who is from Italy, and her husband watched the Oshawa parade. She commended the band and waist drum team. She said that the Falun Gong float was the most beautiful one in the parade.
Several Chinese visitors also watched the parade. A family of three from China paused to take in the band's rehearsal. A practitioner explained to them what Falun Gong is and why the CCP wants to persecute it. The father renounced his membership in the CCP on the spot.
A Chinese woman watched the parade with her two children. A practitioner talked to her about Falun Gong and explained the importance of quitting her membership in the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The woman quit the Young Pioneers using her real name.
