On February 26 and 27, Falun Gong practitioners from Nelson, Motueka and Auckland took part in the "Festival of Opportunities" held in the city of Nelson. This was an unofficial international event. Its major goal was to exhibit different ways to improve health and lifestyle. Many artists and musicians come to participate each year. This year marked the 14th anniversary of the festival and it attracted numerous tourists from New Zealand and other countries.

A picture is worth a thousand words. (Photo published by local newspaper The Nelson Mail)

Visitors learning the exercises	Visitors signing petition after viewing the anti-torture posters	Telling local people about Falun Gong

The Falun Gong stall	Local reporter interviews practitioners

During the event, Gina Shakespeare, a reporter from the local newspaper The Nelson Mail interviewed practitioners and published a large photo showing a demonstration of Falun Gong's fifth exercise, the sitting meditation. Practitioners displayed posters and distributed flyers during the two-day festival to let people know about the practice of Falun Gong and the brutal persecution that is happening in China.