(Clearwisdom.net October 10, 2003) The annual parade celebrating Taiwan's October 10 holiday was held in Chinatown in Washington DC. Because all Chinese people share the same ancestry, the teachers and students of Minghui School participated in the parade and offered help as volunteers as they did during the last few years. The most praised volunteer work of the school was making a balloon arch crossing the main street, which consisted of 500 red, blue, and white balloons. The balloon arch was very eye-catching and has become an essential decoration in recent years. This year, under the joint efforts of teachers and students, the balloon arch was completed on time.

Chinatown	Minghui School	Award certificate (Words in image: Minghui School, Teaching Chinese and being a warm-hearted Chinese group. Presented by the Washington DC Chinese Association)

In the warm up performance before the parade, nine female Falun Gong practitioners with Tang Dynasty costumes performed the lotus dance and demonstrated Falun Gong exercises, which were very warmly welcomed by audience. The parade started at 2:00 pm. It was different from the last few years, in that teachers and students of the Minghui School were not only in the Falun Gong procession, but also appeared in several other groups. Students from Minghui School were also in a group of 60 people holding flags who were composed of students from all Chinese schools. After the parade, everyone expressed their appreciation and said, "You are so good and warm-hearted."

The Washington DC Chinese Association issued an award certificate to the Minghui School to praise its contribution to Chinese society. During the dinner, the host representing the Chinese Association issued medals to 6 Chinese people who made remarkable contributions. Among them, two were teachers and a dean, respectively, from the Minghui School, who are also Falun Gong practitioners.