(Minghui.org) The Nevada City Chinese Lunar New Year Parade and Festival was held on February 25, 2024, in the city’s Chinatown to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. The festival was last held in 2020 and was canceled for the last three years because of the COVID pandemic. The return of this activity on Sunday drew much attention from the local residents as well as people from nearby cities. The parade, performances, cuisine, and exhibition infused the town with the joyous atmosphere of the Chinese New Year. 

Nevada City is located in Nevada County, California, and is one of the earliest places that gold was discovered in California. It is surrounded by lush forests and boasts one of the best preserved Gold Rush towns in California. The annual celebration honors the legacy of early Chinese Gold Rush pioneers and railroad workers of the Sierra. 

Falun Dafa practitioners participate in the 2024 Nevada City Chinese Lunar New Year Parade and Festival.

Practitioners talk to people about Falun Dafa and the ongoing persecution in China.

The practitioners drove from Sacramento and Truckee to join the celebration. This is the fifth time they have been invited to take part in the event. They set up a table and displayed an array of materials including Falun Dafa fliers and bookmarks, which they distributed to visitors. 

Many people stopped by to learn more about Falun Dafa. Some expressed interest in learning Falun Dafa and said they were searching for a way to improve spiritually. Some said they felt a peaceful energy when they did the Falun Dafa exercises, and agreed with Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Many people thanked practitioners for bringing Falun Dafa to the town. 

Besides participating in the parade, practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises onstage. Many spectators were fascinated by the exercise movements and mimicked them. 

People who understood the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China encouraged the practitioners to keep exposing the crimes. They said they hoped the persecution will end soon. 

One person asked many questions, and later thanked the practitioner who clarified some of the misunderstandings he had about Falun Dafa. As he wanted to learn more about the true nature and history of the Chinese Communist regime, the practitioner suggested that he watch the documentary, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.

Andy and his family moved to Nevada City from Sacramento years ago. He and his wife chatted with practitioners. He said he did the Falun Dafa exercises with practitioners in Sacramento 24 years ago, and he remembered one of the practitioners who was at the event that day. The couple wanted to practice the exercises again, and a practitioner showed them and their two daughters how to do them.