Mid-April found us at several community events around Vancouver. We attended the weekend Zoomer Show at the Convention Centre, the Cherry Blossom Festival at Queen Elizabeth Park on Sunday afternoon, and we attended the Vaisakhi parade on Fraser Street all day Sunday. We also began our 8.5-Day Health & Happiness Retreat that weekend. We were busy! In such a positive way – reaching out to others and introducing them to Bodhi Meditation.
The Vaisakhi parade, which celebrates the Punjabi New Year, attracted more than 300,000 people. This parade slowly moves through the streets of south Vancouver, in no particular hurry, which means it takes most of the day. It is an impressive and colourful event. Vancouversbestplaces says, “Part of the Sikh and Punjabi tradition at Vaisakhi is for businesses and even residents of an area to give out free food. It’s kind of like in North America when people give away free candy at Halloween.”
We were able to distribute our magazine Meditation & Health to so many people in the community. The stories and articles in our magazine have brought hope to so many people. After reading the magazine, they come to the centre to see for themselves. They soon realize that the easy-to-do meditation techniques yield quick results. Transformation occurs. So how fitting to be at the Cherry Blossom Festival where transformation is happening before our eyes! At this festival we practiced Energy Bagua, a walking meditation, and encouraged visitors to give it a try.
The Cherry Blossom Festival invites the public for “The Big Picnic”, an opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom canopy at Q.E. Park. “The whole idea of this event is to get us all to pause and appreciate the ethereal, ephemeral, delicate beauty of cherry blossoms…and by so doing, to realize the importance of living in the moment and not taking life for granted,” says Steve Whysall.
This was the 11th annual Zoomer Show, Canada’s largest lifestyle expo for men & women 45+. More than 23,000 people attend this event. Scott, one of the Bodhi volunteers, said, “This event was great from top to bottom. Our fellow vendors were wonderful, as were all of the spectators with whom we engaged. The energy, conversation, and fun was abundant. Over the two days, we were able to offer 1,700 Meditation & Health magazines to attendees. That’s 1,700 individuals who are now empowered to bring more happiness into their lives. Wow!”
