(Clearwisdom.net) On the first Sunday of June, 2004, the 31st "Grand Old Day" festival, the largest such traditional activity in the Midwest, was held in St. Paul, Minnesota. The festival filled about 2.5 miles of a major street, and about 200,000 people attended. This is the first time Falun Gong practitioners have participated in this grand event, and the peaceful and serene image presented by practitioners attracted many tourists' attention.
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Through this grand occasion, many businesses, media, and governmental officials got an opportunity to witness the beauty of Falun Dafa in person. When parade groups of businesses, governmental, and non-government organizations passed by the practitioners' booth, many participants and drivers were very happy to take Falun Gong fliers and paper lotus flowers from practitioners. After the parade concluded, crowds of people passed by, and many stopped to watch the practitioners' exercise demonstration and to acquire informational materials. Some also talked with practitioners with much interest. There were also some passersby who learned Falun Gong exercises at the booth and signed a petition to call for the immediate release of Charles Lee and end of the persecution.
A 2-year-old girl lingered around the booth for quite some time, and she mimicked practitioners' exercise poses. In the end, she wanted to sit on a mat to demonstrate Falun Gong exercises. Her mother was laughing while watching her lovely daughter. Another small girl who was about 8 or 9 years old learned how to fold paper lotus flowers from a young practitioner, and said that she would teach her mother when she got back home. A small boy asked for Falun Gong information, saying that he hoped his mother would start to practice Falun Gong. There were also several young fellows who tried to sit in double-lotus posture without success. Nevertheless, they insisted on learning the fifth Falun Gong exercise. Several young girls signed their names on a petition after they learned about the plight of Charles Lee.
During the one-day event, many people got a chance to contact Falun Dafa and learn the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.
