(Minghui.org) The 2021 Florida State Fair was originally scheduled for February but was pushed back to April 22 through May 2 because of the pandemic. Falun Dafa practitioners from Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville were invited to participate in the fair for all 10 days. They used the opportunity to spread the wonder and beauty of Falun Dafa and also to expose the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China.
Falun Dafa practitioners at the 2021 Florida State Fair
Practitioners raise awareness of the persecution in China.
Visitors learning the Falun Dafa exercises
The Florida State Fairgrounds were crowded with art, food, and entertainment booths at this year's fair. Many things have reopened, and there were many tourists at the fair. The Falun Dafa booth was located in a spacious area inside the Florida Center next to booths that displayed art, photographs, and tropical plants and fish.
The Falun Dafa Association of Florida was invited to attend the fair free of charge. At their booth, practitioners displayed paper lotus flowers and paintings from The Art of Zhen Shan Ren International Exhibition. Some of the paintings reflected the beauty of Falun Dafa while others depicted the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China.
The painting “Pure Lotus” was also on display and portrayed the purity of the lotus flower rising from the sludge but still remaining unsullied. Living in times of chaos, it is easy to go astray. To rise above and beyond, people need to improve themselves by cultivating and assimilating to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Practitioners asked people to remember the principles of Falun Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Many people replied that the world needs these principles.
An endless stream of tourists attended the 10-day fair. They seemed impressed by the tranquility of the practitioners doing the exercises accompanied by the soothing music, in stark contrast to the persecution in China depicted in several of the paintings. Many people learned about Falun Dafa and its health benefits and how innocent people are still being persecuted for practicing it in China. Several asked about local Falun Dafa practice sites and others learned to do the exercises.
Brenda, the fair organizer, visited the Falun Dafa booth with her friends on the sixth day of the fair and learned to do the exercises.
“I know Falun Dafa and I am aware that there is an ongoing persecution,” a woman named Michelle said. She told practitioners that on a business trip to China, she was chatting about Falun Dafa with her colleagues there and their reactions really surprised her. They started to get very nervous and one even put a finger to her lips. It seemed like a dangerous topic. Out of curiosity, Michelle searched online and saw many reports about the persecution of Falun Dafa. She then understood why her colleagues were so nervous.
A young woman brought her older sister over to the booth. She had been so affected by the persecution of Falun Dafa in China that she wanted her sister to hear about it, too.
“Please give me more flyers. I want my friends to know about the persecution, too,” the older sister said.
Practitioner Annie Li was at the fair and she wanted to share her story with as many people as possible. Annie was in a serious car accident after immigrating to the United States in 2011. She suffered a concussion, which led to insomnia, loss of memory, loss of vision, headaches, and bloating. She went to all kinds of doctors, but nothing they did helped. In 2015 she came across Falun Dafa and it gave her a new life.
Annie feels that practicing Falun Dafa is the secret to a healthy life, and she hopes more predestined people can have healthy minds and bodies and happy families.
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