On August 3rd-5th, the annual Railroad Days Festival was held in Snoqualmie, Washington. Local Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the festival parade and showcase the practice at a booth. The practitioners' activities were well-received, and they were presented with six awards. The practitioners had a beautiful decorated "Fa Boat" float, a waist drum team and a lion dance. On August 8th, a local newspaper published a colour photo of several practitioners demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises on the decorated float.
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| Falun Gong practitioners participate in the Snoqualmie Festival |
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| Spectators happily accept Falun Gong leaflets |
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| The Snoqualmie Valley Record newspaper published a photo of the practitioners' float |
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| The practitioners' procession received six awards |
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| Many visitors came to the Falun Gong booth to learn about the practice |
On June 6th, 2007, the Snoqualmie Valley Record published an article titled "Snoqualmie's International Incident." The report described the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco dispatching two officials to meet with the mayor of Snoqualmie after the city issued a proclamation to Falun Gong. While the Chinese officials requested that the city cancel the proclamation, the mayor declined the request and invited local practitioners to participate in the meeting with the Chinese officials. Local residents learned more about Falun Gong and the persecution in China from this incident. When the Falun Gong procession appeared in the parade, spectators warmly greeted them with strong applause.
After the parade, people swarmed to the Falun Gong booth, asking where they could learn the practice and why the practice is being persecuted. Many of them spoke highly of the practitioners' performance in the parade. Festival organisers later brought six trophies to the booth and said, "These are all yours. No one can match you guys."
The Falun Gong procession received the following six awards:
Judge's Choice - 1st place
Grand Marshal - 1st place
Best Float - 1st place
Unique Entry - 1st place
Marching Band - 2nd place
People's Choice Award - 3rd place
At the booth, the practitioners displayed the Snoqualmie Valley Record's article. Many people said that they had read the article and were proud of their mayor's decision. Most were also interested in learning about the history of the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One couple came to the practitioners' booth and expressed their interest in learning more about the practice, and especially the suppressive history of the CCP. The fellow said that he graduated with a degree in history and was very interested in the story of the persecution. The couple was very glad to receive a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
On another occasion, the practitioners met a Chinese family. The mother had learned Falun Gong in China before the persecution and later gave it up due to fear after the persecution started. During this festival, her daughter brought her to meet the practitioners, hoping that she would resume her practice. After talking with the practitioner, the mother immediately decided to quit the Communist Youth League.
On August 8th, the Snoqualmie Valley Record published a colour photo of several practitioners who were demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises on a float during the parade. The caption on the picture said that the Falun Gong practitioners were demonstrating meditation on the float and that the group received a number of awards in the festival parade.
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