(Minghui.org) The small town of Orangeville in Ontario, Canada celebrated Culture Day on Saturday, September 28, 2013. The event was held in a park behind the Town Hall at the same time as the local Farmers market.
Many local organizations and artists came together to celebrate a day filled with free activities, workshops, and demonstrations. Falun Dafa practitioners were also invited to participate.
Visitors stopped at the Falun Dafa booth to learn about this ancient cultivation practice, the five sets of exercises, and traditional Chinese arts. Children were invited to learn how to make paper lotus flowers as well.
Practitioners took the opportunity to clarify the truth about the ongoing persecution in China.
The people of Orangeville also had a unique opportunity to learn about and witness Chinese traditional arts through dance and pipa performances. The performances were presented by the Lian Hua Arts Group from Toronto. Since its founding in 2001, the Lian Hua Arts Group has been committed to celebrating the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance through traditional Chinese arts.
The pure and soft sounds from the pipa attracted the attention of people who wanted to listen and learn more about the Chinese four-stringed instrument. The colorful and graceful dance "Spring" performed by children brought joy to the audience. A culture dating back five millennia was brought forward to the modern day.
Julia Poletto, organizer for the event, said, "I've never heard anything like that before. The pipa performance gave me shivers and I felt truly blessed to witness this."
The audience also learned that the 5,000-year-old traditional arts in China have been systematically destroyed by the Chinese communist regime since the days of the Cultural Revolution. However, the essence and spirit of these traditions have now been revived outside of China.
The group of practitioners took the stage at noon to demonstrate the Falun Dafa exercises. The grey weather that persisted throughout the morning suddenly changed and the sun began to shine.
Jesse, a young local man, was trying to follow along with practitioners to learn the practice. He was invited to participate in group practice on Sunday following the event.
Members of a local Tai Chi group came to the booth to learn more about the practice.
Winnie, a local jewelry vendor who is originally from Hong Kong, previously had misconceptions about the reasons for the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. One of the practitioners took time to clarify the truth and dispel the propaganda of the Communist Party.
This year, when the same practitioner approached Winnie, her attitude and understanding was completely different. She knew about organ harvesting and how evil the communist regime is.
The event was small but memorable to visitors who had a wonderful opportunity to experience and learn about Falun Dafa and traditional Chinese arts.
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Category: Parades & Other Community Events
