(Minghui.org) On April 24, 2021, from 11 a.m to 7 p.m, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in “Arts in The Park” in the City of Plano. The event was held in Haggard Park and attracted more than 1,000 attendees. Many were pleasantly surprised to discover Falun Dafa, and they also learned about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s brutal persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, who follow the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”
In mid-April, the Dallas region experienced its most severe winter-like weather in a century. It stormed and rained the night before the event. The sky cleared up early in the morning on April 24, sweeping away all signs of rain. Bright sunshine filled the park. People came out to enjoy the pleasant weather and view the art displays.
The City of Plano, Texas held the “Arts in the Park” event in Haggard Park, attracting over 1,000 attendees.
The event enabled artists to display their creations, and every stall was asked to exhibit artworks. There were also music and performances by local arts groups. Falun Dafa practitioner Wei Wei said, “When we were invited to participate in this event, we decided to choose five pieces from the ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance Arts Exhibition’ to highlight the beauty of Falun Dafa and the brutality that is happening in China. We had five volunteers introducing the artworks to people and answering questions, and they were kept busy every moment.
“Many visitors were deeply moved by the paintings and wanted to know more about Falun Dafa. They were sad to learn about the hardships practitioners have gone through in the 22 years of suppression and moved by their efforts to raise awareness. They wanted to help practitioners. I told them they could help by telling more people about what’s happening.”
People Condemn Organ Harvesting Crimes
Karen Deem, a teacher, and Marion Bean, who works in speech education, learned about the persecution of Falun Dafa at the “Arts in the Park” event.
Karen Deem, a local teacher, and her friend Marion Bean, who teaches languages, attended the event together. They were both shocked by the painting “Organ Crimes.” They couldn’t understand why the organs of Falun Dafa practitioners were taken without consent while they were detained in China. They said they didn’t think such evil existed in the world and that they would pray for this crime to be stopped.
When they asked what they could do to help, Ms. Zhang, a practitioner, told them there was a bill in Texas condemning the CCP’s organ harvesting crimes. She suggested contacting their elected lawmakers and spreading the message on social media.
Mr. Jean works in the engineering department of the local government. He was glad that so many people were drawn to the painting and said, “These artworks are eye-opening. I will let people know about the persecution.”
Megan Ray and her friend said the CCP’s crimes of forced organ harvesting should not be allowed to continue.
Meagan Ray, a clinical documentation analyst, and her friend Julia Ray brought two children to see the paintings. They both said people should stand up and do something to stop the CCP’s state-sanctioned crimes of forced organ harvesting.
Katie Rice and her friend learned about Falun Dafa at the arts festival. She said she would tell her students and friends about the persecution.
Katie Rice lives in Quinlan, a small town in northeastern Texas. She is a language teacher for fourth-grade students and an artist. She creates literary works in her spare time and wants to be a writer. This was the first time she had heard of Falun Dafa. When she saw the paintings depicting the discipline of self-cultivation, she asked many questions. She took copies of every brochure available to share with her students.
Practitioner Larrision said nearly every conversation with visitors started with the painting “Organ Crimes” and that people wanted to know what it depicted. When they learned the story behind the painting, they wanted to know more about Falun Dafa and asked what they could do to stop the CCP from committing these crimes.
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