(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Bulgaria hosted events in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, also known as the 2019 European Cultural Capital, for two weekends in September. Hundreds of residents and tourists learned about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and the ongoing persecution of the practice in China being carried out by the Chinese Communist Party.

Falun Dafa followers participated in the annual festival “Night of Museums and Galleries” on September 14, 2019. This event, which began in 2005, now draws up to 60,000 visitors each year. This year’s festival featured 110 different art projects, including modern and traditional visual arts, theater, cinema, music, and dance. The museums, community centers, libraries, galleries, and places of worship throughout the city of Plovdiv opened their doors to welcome the variety of artistic creations.

The festivities did not overshadow the public’s interest in human rights’ violations of innocent people in China. Crowds of passersby lined up at the Falun Dafa information stands to learn more about the persecution and to support efforts to make it known to the people outside of China. Some were already familiar with Falun Dafa or had seen practitioners at their practice site by Plovdiv’s Rowing Base. Others read the banners about the forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China. Many were moved to tears and signed the petition.

After hearing about the persecution, one man commented that he noticed a relationship between the lack of moral values and the reality in China. His understanding was that the genocide marked the end of an era. He said, “We are going to save ourselves only with righteous thoughts and actions, as well as selfless acts of kindness.”

On September 21 and 22, which is Independence Day in Bulgaria, the practitioners were invited to participate in the “Mood for Food” culinary festival. The purpose of this event was to preserve the ethnic culture of the local communities, featuring the culinary traditions. Practitioners presented the five Falun Dafa exercises and held a petition drive and paper lotus flower origami workshops.

During the petition drive on September 21, a young man who had traveled to Asia expressed his observation, “Human life has no value in China.”

Many who learned about the genocide for the first time were shocked by the facts and declared their support by signing the petition. Others realized that behind the shiny face of the fastest growing economy were hidden human rights violations, where people are sent to prison for their beliefs. A man from the Czech Republic who signed the petition even brought his friends to sign.

The origami workshops were popular with children and their parents.

A girl from Hong Kong was impressed by the exercises and by the origami workshops. She knew that the practice was being persecuted in China and asked for more information about the spiritual discipline.

A passerby complimented the practitioners for the way they handled the origami workshops and commented that their effort was sacred. He later asked to buy a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. He explained that he made his living as a street musician. Tears began to flow as he held Zhuan Falun in his hands.

One of the practitioners commented after the festival, “The origami workshops were beautiful and everything just fell into place. They seemed to both energize and calm the visitors—and me.”