United States: Introducing Falun Gong at Boston Local Food Festival

Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the Boston Local Food Festival held on October 7th, 2012. The event took place on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston, and drew 40,000 festival-goers who enjoyed themselves with diverse and delicious food locally produced and offered by 120 food vendors from across New England.

Falun Gong practitioners provided the festival-goers with demonstrations of the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. They stood in two large circles in the center of the event venue. When the peaceful exercise music began to play, the noises at the event venue gradually disappeared, and numerous passersby and tourists stopped to watch. Some people followed along with the practitioners to do the movements.

Practitioners demonstrate the exercises at the Boston Local Food Festival

Passersby and tourists in downtown Boston stop to watch the exercise demonstration

During breaks between the demonstrations, the practitioners introduced the audience to the basics of Falun Dafa, such as the core principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and the health benefits of the practice. They also informed the audience about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese communist regime in China.

A visiting scholar couple who had just come to the US from China saw the practitioners demonstrating the exercises at the event. They were surprised and delighted. They told the practitioners, “People who can see Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the exercises are those who have good fortune. We feel that Boston people are really fortunate!” Their daughter wanted to learn the practice.

A musician took a Falun Gong flyer and asked for the address of practice site. He said he wanted to learn Falun Gong.

Katrina Kazda, director of the food festival activities heard the peaceful exercise music and said excitedly, “The music is beautiful! It's just what we need!”