(Clearwisdom.net) April 6, 2002 was the day of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival parade in Washington DC. Once again, Falun Gong practitioners participated in the parade, including about 300 practitioners from California, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.

Starting at 8:00 a.m., 60 --70 different processions and several thousand people gathered on the front lawn of the Capitol building. Falun Gong practitioners set up an attractive float with banners. Along with demonstrating the exercises, the practitioners added new cultural features to the parade. The California dancing team was applauded the whole way as they danced to Falun Dafa Pudu music in pink traditional costumes. Dozens of small poster boards displayed "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" in different languages, and some Chinese, Korean, and Indian women practitioners wore their colorful traditional dress in testimony to the widespread following of Falun Gong. Onlookers asked to take photos with them and requested information on Falun Gong.

Over 20 practitioners were praised for their volunteer work of maintaining traffic and order for the festival.

After the parade, the practitioners set up a stage on the front lawn of the Capitol building and demonstrated the exercises. They also performed cultural shows, a cello solo, folk dance, and a dragon dance. This made for a lively festival and attracted many people.