(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from New York participated in the 92nd Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade in Queens, New York, on May 27, 2019. This annual parade started in 1927 and is now considered the largest Memorial Day parade in the United States.
One hundred and seventy groups, including members of the NAVY, the air force, and the New York Police Department, performed in this year's two-hour parade.
The 300-member Falun Gong entry consisted of four teams: the banner team, the exercise demonstration team, the colorful flag team, and the waist drum team.
Falun Gong practitioners participate in the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 27, 2019.
Christan and his wife from the Netherlands were glad to see Falun Gong in New York. “We have seen Falun Gong's events in Amsterdam,” he said. “They demonstrate the exercises at public plazas. If everybody practices Falun Gong, it will make the world a better place.”
Rose McLean loves the colorful flags printed with “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” She says the flags bring brightness and color to the parade.
Sarafoglou, the owner of a restaurant, is happy to accept a gift from practitioners—a handmade paper lotus flower, which is a symbol of purity in Chinese culture. He filmed the parade and says he will hang the flower in his restaurant.
A local mother takes her daughter and twin sons over to practitioners, asking them to teach the family the exercises. “The music is so peaceful, and movements are gentle,” she says. The family later learned the five sets of exercises and asked for detailed contact information for the local exercise site.
The parade organizers have invited the local Falun Gong group to perform several years in a row.
One of the organizers thanked practitioners for their contribution. “They have become an irreplaceable part of us, and they are popular in our community,” he said.
