(Minghui.org) Bendigo’s annual Easter Festival was held April 3-6, 2026. The Easter Gala Parade was held on April 5 and attracted thousands of residents and tourists.

Located in Victoria, Bendigo was established during Australia’s gold rush and was called the “Big Gold Mountain” by the Chinese who settled there. The Easter festival started in 1871 and is now one of Australia’s oldest. Besides the grand parade, the four day event also included live band performances, fireworks, an Easter egg hunt as well as family activities and markets.

Falun Dafa practitioners were once again invited to participate. The colorful contingent with a variety of performances that showcase traditional Eastern culture transmits the core values of Falun Dafa – Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Falun Gong practitioners have been taking part in the parade since 2001 and have become a prominent, shining part of the celebrations.

Practitioners participated in the Bendigo Easter Parade on April 5, 2026.

Deputy Mayor of Bendigo: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is More Important Than Ever

Mayor Cr Thomas Prince (first on right) took a group photo with practitioners before the parade began and thanked them for participating in the event.

Deputy Mayor Cr Karen Corr (first on left) took a photo with practitioners.

Mayor Thomas Prince told the practitioners, “Thank you for coming. This is amazing. I am really glad you are part of this celebration and community. There are so many people involved in this and committed to promoting our tradition. This is great. It is a great honor that you are participating. All the best to everyone!”

Deputy Mayor Cr Karen Corr praised Falun Dafa’s guiding principles and said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is more important than ever. We are a very welcoming city. We abide by these principles as much as we can.”

She admired the group’s efforts in passing on the beauty of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and said, “It’s fantastic, so well done. Thank you for doing that. It’s an important message and it's really great that you’re doing that. Well done. Thank you so much!”

Major Events Officer Raph Beh praised the practitioners' performances.

Major Events Officer for Bendigo, Raph Beh said about 60 groups participated in the parade, including many community and sports organizations. He praised the practitioners and said, “You are always so amazing. I think the locals love the Falun Dafa group’s colorful performance. You bring peace and pass on the value of kindness, and therefore you are welcome!”

You Are Fantastic in the Parade

Radio station host Mark Robinson (left) and his colleague reported on the event that day.

Mark Robinson is the host of the morning news at Gold FM, a local radio station. He said the Easter parade really represents what Bendigo is all about and the Falun Dafa group that participates in the event every year is undoubtedly one of the shining points, “I think you are fantastic. I love their colors, the brightness, the vibrancy of it all.”

He said, “Before the parade I look up every group’s background. I think it is obvious, if we can live in a community with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, it makes life a lot better and it makes the community a lot better as well.”

Manager Thanks Practitioners for Participating in the Parade

Jacob Amarant, (right) a customer service manager in the local water utilities company, was very impressed by the practitioners’ performance in the parade.

Jacob Amarant’s wife teaches performing arts, and he was part of the Props Theater group in the parade. He was very impressed by the practitioners’ performance in past parades, “Falun Dafa practitioners have taken part in the Easter parade for many years. Their float is beautiful, there is the dragon as well as lovely music, the whole group has lots of color, lots of energy which is what we go for in the theater as well.”

He admires practitioners for doing their best to spread the universal values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, “Absolutely, I think these values are amazing. I think we should try to display the goodness of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to the wider community. It’s a good thing worth doing every year. Such efforts are absolutely great. They are important to Bendigo. So, thank you so much.

“I think we need to start in our communities being truthful, being tolerant, being compassionate with one another and I think that only starts at a community, neighborhood level, hopefully it gets to more of a worldwide understanding. If every one of us stands behind these values, the world would be a better place.”

He also said he would like to learn more about Falun Dafa.

The Most Precious Part in Life

The parade officially began at 12:30 p.m. and the route was 5 km (3.1 miles) long. Around 100 practitioners from Melbourne and Sydney forming several major themes in the group took part in the parade. Spectators on both sides of the road clapped and cheered as practitioners marched past. From time to time, people could be heard exclaiming: “Falun Dafa!” “Authentic, traditional culture,” and, “You are amazing!”

Practitioner Ms. Sun and her family participated in the Bendigo Easter parade.

The Falun Dafa float in the Bendigo Easter Parade.

Ms. Sun and her family of four regularly participate in the parade. That day, her husband conducted the Tian Guo Marching Band, her youngest daughter demonstrated the exercises on the float while her oldest daughter was a member of the fairy maiden team.

Ms. Sun said, “We are lucky to take part in the Bendigo Easter parade, bringing the beauty and good messages of Dafa to more people. Many spectators praised the young practitioners on the float, saying they looked graceful and beautiful.”

Ms. Dong said, “Many people clapped for our group and shouted: ‘Thank you Falun Gong!' 'This is amazing' or 'I love this group!'” A local council staff member told her, “This is truly beautiful. You are all kind people.”

She also heard many Chinese people compliment the group’s performance. This was unheard of in the past. She said, “Several young people exclaimed: ‘Wow, Falun Gong is amazing. They have such a long contingent. It’s truly beautiful!’”

Ms. Dong said, “Many people expressed their appreciation through applause and smiles. I feel that people’s views about Dafa have changed.”

The Bendigo Easter Parade

The annual Bendigo Easter Parade was held on April 5 this year and featured the 100 meter long golden dragon known as Dai Gum Loong.

Bendigo is located in central Victoria and is 128 kilometers from Melbourne. During the 1850's, a gold rush attracted many Chinese to the area. By 1854, approximately 4,000 Chinese people were working in the gold mines.

The parade is a major part of the Bendigo Easter festival and started in 1871. As part of the activities, the parade not only continued the traditional celebration format, it also reflects Bendigo’s multiculturalism and vibrancy. The parade marched along the city’s center – View St., Pall Mall, McCrae St. and Bridge St. The Bendigo Easter festival continues to be one of Australia’s most historic community events.

The Chinese community first took part in the Bendigo Easter festival markets and parade in 1879. When the only hospital in the city burned down, the Chinese community raised funds by giving dragon dance performances and rebuilt the hospital. Since then, the dragon dance has become the grand finale of the Easter festival.

This year, the third generation golden dragon (Dai Gum Loong) appeared at the end of the parade. Claiming to be the world’s longest dragon, it needs 65 people to carry it, and the head alone weighs 27 kilos. The body is 125 meters long and there are over 7,000 handmade scales. The dragon makes an appearance in Bendigo once a year.