Canada: The Montreal Divine Land Marching Band Gives First Public Performance at Christmas Parade

On November 9th, Montreal practitioners' Divine Land Marching Band participated in a Christmas parade in Montreal. Formed in mid-September, the band consists of more than 100 practitioners. This was the first public performance of the band.

Falun Gong Divine Land Marching Band participated in the Christmas Parade in Montreal

Practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises on a float

According to the parade organiser, the Montreal Christmas Parade has a history of eight years. The parade this year consisted of 9 themed groups with 71 participating groups. After watching the performance of the marching band, the organiser said that the band was wonderful. The first public performance of the band also received warm applause and exclamation from the spectators.

Zhu Xueye, director of the marching band, said: "We used to invite the Toronto Divine Land Marching Band to participate in our local events and the band was very popular. However, the band is always busy and it is especially hard to get the band here during the holiday season. After going through a lot of obstacles, we formed the Montreal Divine Land Marching Band two months ago. From teenagers to seniors in their 70s, from Asians to Westerners, all of our members have been practising very hard and thus we are able to give a great performance just two months after we formed."

When asked about the mission of the band, Zhu Xueye said that they want a way to let more people see the goodness of Falun Dafa. "We all have benefited from Falun Dafa. Since the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Dafa in July 1999, many people have been misled by the communist regime's slanderous propaganda. By letting people see the practice, the demeanor of practitioners and by exposing the facts of the persecution, we hope that people will realise that Falun Dafa is good."

The first Divine Land Marching Band was formed in New York City and the band made its first public performance during the 2006 New York New Year's Day Parade. Practitioners in the Western United States, Toronto, Australia, Taiwan and Korea have also formed local Divine Land Marching Band units.