(Clearwisdom.net) On July 21, 2007, at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, Canada, Falun Gong practitions from Vancouver and Victoria participated in Luminara, an annual lantern festival sponsored by the Victoria International Cultural Association.

Every year many lanterns are displayed throughout St. Ann's Academy and Beacon Hill Park, and thousands of people come to view the lanterns and join the fun, some with their own miniature lanterns in hand. It is an event celebrating the diversity of various cultures.

Five practitioners came from Vancouver to perform Tang Dynasty dances at the Victoria Falun Dafa display, while other Vancouver practitioners helped to put the display together. Although festival organizers provided all the other lantern displays, the Falun Dafa display was designed and created by Victoria practitioners.

Many people marvelled at the beauty of the heavenly maiden dancers and stunning lanterns in the Falun Dafa display. The dancers wore colourful long dresses and exquisite hairpieces.

In the weeks prior to the festival, practitioners worked hard to depict the beauty of Dafa and ancient Chinese tradition in the lanterns. One lantern displayed a female celestial being from the Tang Dynasty era. Another consisted of a colourful gong column with celestial beings. Beautiful lotus flowers were lit throughout the display, while three other lanterns depicted Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. Small Chinese lanterns glowed in candlelight around the circumference of the display.

Although heavy rain marred the event, many people admired the Dafa display. Flashing cameras could be seen and exclamations such as "Wow! How serene! Beautiful lotus flowers! Beautiful dancers!" could be heard throughout the evening.

Children peered into the lotus flowers and small lanterns lining the display. People seemed to become calm and at peace. Children and pets behaved, while parents quietly admired the display. No one seemed to notice the pouring rain or the darkness when night fell. The beauty of the dancers and their graceful movements had the effect of making people forget about the bad weather. The Dafa music put everyone at ease. After seeing the display and performance, many said they were happy they came and they were pleased to discover more about true Chinese tradition.