The 59^th Azalea Parade was held on April 8, 2006 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Falun Gong practitioners participated in the celebration for the first time with waist drums, a decorated float and exercise demonstrations. The audience responded with warm applause.

Falun Gong procession

Beautifully decorated Falun Gong float

Wilmington is a small oceanfront city in North Carolina that has many tourists in the spring and fall. On the day of the parade, the temperature was mild and there were tens of thousands of spectators. It was estimated that another several hundred thousand people watched the TV Channel 3 live broadcast. The Falun Gong procession received warm applause for its unique oriental culture and practitioners' serenity.

After the parade, some of the practitioners went to the Street Fair of the Azalea Festival, set up a petition drive, displayed pictures and passed out truth-clarification materials. When the people learned of the CCP's inhuman crimes of genocide and harvesting of practitioners' organs for huge profits, many people signed their names to the petition calling for an end to the CCP's crimes.