Wilber Czech Days 2009 = THE COOLEST CZECH DAYS EVER

Well I can't believe Wilber Czech Days has gone by already...EEK! Only one more year till I'm IN THE PAGEANT IN WILBER! (Well actually it's 366 days from today...yes I'm already counting down!)

Well I headed to Wilber on Friday night this year. I had a really early morning as I started my new shift at work. I worked from 6am-2pm and didn't take a lunch so I could get out of there early. I got everything together and got dressed so Brad and I could head to the accordion jam. (Of course I was a bit behind. HEHE!) When we got there Shandra was just running up to the stage too so I didn't feel too bad. :) We played for a bit...or rather he played and I tried. Then I had to get Shandra off the stage. She was getting an award and I couldn't tell her about it so I told her that we were walking through the children's parade and needed to stop by the bandstand so I could accept an award for my dad first. We totally got her...she had NO IDEA and didn't even hear Laura when she called her name. :) My dad really did get the award too so I accepted it for him. We spent a bit more time walking the streets etc. We stopped in Sokol and ran into Grandma Dorothy there which was good because we were going to head to her house next to catch her before she went to bed. She said nobody else was coming till Saturday so I was really surprised to run into my cousin Dana there (she's a past Wilber Czech Queen!) I changed and we all headed out for the evening. We went to the Fox Hole to watch Sue and Gaylen and Deb play and didn't leave from there as it started pouring rain not too long after we got inside. Brad left early because he had to drive back to Wilber the next morning and we went back to Grandma's and got our beds put together etc. Nothing too crazy and a good night overall. :)

The next morning I got up and tried to get ready early but did a lot more sitting around that I should have! When I did get ready, Brad came and picked me up and we headed to the accordion jam at the bandstand. We hid in the back which was good for me because I had some room around me and was able to hear myself play. But towards the end of the jam they wanted everyone in the back to come to the front. Of course they wanted me front and center but I told them I would only come up there if they played songs I knew. We played Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie, Koline, and When We Parted. It was fun to feel like I can play along now that I'm improving. After the jam we had a bit of time to wander around town because I had to do introductions of the chapter queens at noon. We met up with my prince and princess and watched the dancers perform. When we went on stage I COMPLETELY forgot my introduction but I just made a joke about it and moved on. I introduced Sidney and Jackson and made an announcement that it was Sid's 9th Birthday that day...nobody believed it because she is so stinkin little! We watched all of the National queens introduce themselves then headed up to the Czech Village for our dignitary luncheon. Before we got there we stopped at the Czech Craft Shop to get Jake a hat to wear with his vest in the parade (he got to ride through the parade in the front seat with us) and to Czech Cottage and bought me and Sidney new crown pins for our sashes (hers was broken.) We had time to run there while the national queens took pictures and then headed on our way. As usual my dad and younger brother were there to greet everyone and grandma was there serving food. We all grabbed some food then sat down for introductions. Well I had been trying to keep my dads award a secret...but CHARLIE KELLER spilled the beans at the bandstand and everyone started asking him where his sash was and telling him congrats. After Charlie introduced the mayor, senator, and Wilber Queen he introduced me. I spoke a bit and then asked for someone special to come up to the front. I explained that it was an honor to accept this award for my dad the night before and tried to choke down the tears when I explained that my grandpa had gotten this award when I was the Lincoln queen and now dad is getting it as I am the Nebraska queen. He was pretty proud. After that I did a few quick introductions and we had to run and get to the cars. I couldn't believe how cool it was! This couldn't possibly be Czech Days! :) The kids had fun and as usual bickered about who had more people on their side and which side their family was on. LOL! After the parade they went to get candy and I started to get ready for the talent show. There were several Friends/family members who weren't able to travel to Clarkson to see me perform my talent so I decided to do my talent in Wilber for everyone who missed it to see. After the parade was over the talent show started. I love watching all of the kids perform...they never stop surprising me! After all of the younger divisions were complete we started on the 18 and older division. The people in my division were Laura Shestak (the Wilber Czech Queen) who danced, Sydnee Kiesel (the Wilber Czech Princess' Older Sister) who sang, the Kiesel Quartet (Sydnee, Savanna, Sheyenne the Wilber Princess, and Conner) who danced, Myself, and 2 Girls who did a marshal arts performance. As usual...I definitely wouldn't want to be a judge in this competition. Everyone did an awesome job. Sydnee won 4th place, Kiesel Quartet won 3rd place, I won 2nd Place (which I've one for the past several years...I was really shootin for 1st this time,) and the marshal arts duo won 1st. After the talent show we watched the kids dance and then wandered around a bit before night 1 of the pageant. I was really excited to watch the pageant this year...hard to believe that my turn is only a year away. I've been watching this since I was a baby! The first night was kroj modeling and on stage interviews. I will tell you right now that things have changed! The interview questions just get harder and harder every year but they're looking for the best candidate and this is a great way to do that. I think there was 2 questions out of all of them that I may have stumbled on if I had to answer them right then and there. I was mentally going through what I would have said etc the WHOLE TIME! The kroj this year were BEAUTIFUL...but I say that every year. After the pageant my dad walked me back to grandma's house after a quick stop in the Hotel Wilber Beer Garden to see Vo (aka my uncle Gary) and Aunt Laurie because I haven't seen them in a while and they were there for his class reunion. I was SCARED TO DEATH that somebody was going to spill beer on me but I made it out of there clean and dry. YIPPEE! After changing we walked around a bit and I finally found some of the family to meet up with and it was already 11pm. We stayed out until the beer garden closed and walked back to grandma's house. I fell asleep on the recliner not too long after we got back and I was out for the night.

Sunday morning came too quickly...mostly because the recliner wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep and I was in the living room so as people started getting up I heard them walking around etc. I took a shower and cleaned up a bit but put off getting ready for the day. I put it off a bit too long because I was rushing like crazy to make it to the bandstand for introductions at noon. I got there right on time but they were running behind with the dancers so I was fine. PHEW! I did introductions of the chapter queens (and got my introduction right this time) then me and the kids listened to the national queen introductions. After they all did their introductions we walked with them to the Czech Village for the luncheon again. This one was shorter as there wasn't as many people there as the previous day. We rode through in a different car on the 2nd day (I'm lucky to have the hookup on cars!!!) Jake decided not to be my little Jr Prince on Sunday because he wanted to stay and catch candy. Toward the end of the parade someone had turned off about 3 or 4 blocks early...so everyone else followed. When we got up there I told dad to keep going and go to the end of the normal parade route. Everyone started cheering really loud and standing up when we came thorough. They were so excited that now the parade would actually come past them like it should have. I think I may have made some extra fans for next year. ;) After the parade we walked down to the Outdoor Theater and sat in the shade for a while (it was actually ALMOST Czech Days weather by this time.) Laura and I sent my mom and her dad on a mission to find us some sauerkraut/good Czech food so when they couldn't find anything else they told us to meet them at Sokol. We had lunch then headed back to the Outdoor Theater. They did introductions of the Wilber Royalty and then asked me to come up and speak a bit. I was really nervous...I think I started to realize that I would be on that same stage in a year competing for a title I have always dreamed to have. Once we were done with that I went back to Sokol and found Uncle Dan because I've always wanted to dance in the dance contest but never had a partner. Well in the beer garden the night before we "practiced for next year" because I thought that the dance contest was on Saturday. I kept trying to get him to say he would dance with me and so did the rest of the family...even Aunt Jan! :) I finally wore him down. We had to dance one polka and one waltz. After we finished they called us all back up and told us they needed one more polka. What was that...an endurance test?! LOL! We were in the 55+ age division and didn't place...there were like 7 other couples out there. Oh well...it was fun and at least I can say I finally did it! After the dance contest the kids danced one more time and then it was time for the pageant again. The 2nd night is always really exciting...the talents and awards! The talent was awesome! I was surprised to see no accordion players this year. After all of the girls did their talend, Sandy Ptak (the outgoing Miss Czech-Slovak US,) performed her talent...with a twist. Her court and Shandra Korbelik came out and danced while she was singing...it was HILLARIOUS. I posted it on YouTube and it is spreading around like crazy. :) Just click here to watch it! Next she gave her farewell speech and surprisingly...we all held it together. Then they brought all of the girls on stage for awards....drumroll please! Here were the results:
TJ Sokol Award (For the Best Sokol Like Routine) - Olivia Cada, Miss Minnesota
Heritage Award (Based on Application) - Tanya Jech, Miss Illinois
Lois Fiala Spirit Heritage Award - Leilani Kurtak, Miss Arizona
Miss Congeniality (Voted by Contestants) - Olivia Cada, Miss Minnesota
Oratory Award (Public Speaking) - Teresa Mahoney, Miss Oregon
Americanized Kroj (Costume) - Christy Dowling, Miss Kansas
Authentic Kroj (Costume) - Teresa Mahoney, Miss Oregon
Talent Runner Up - Briana Tichy, Miss New Jersey
Grand Talent - Christy Dowling, Miss Kansas
2nd Runner Up - Carrie Brown, Miss Nebraska
1st Runner Up - Teresa Mahoney, Miss Oregon
Miss Czech-Slovak US 2009 - Briana Tichy, Miss New Jersey
They all did an AMAZING job! I loved watching all of these girls and look forward to being in the pageant next year and I'm sure that the competition will only get harder...it always does. After the pageant they took tons of pictures and then headed to Sokol for the queen reception. We danced and had cake/punch and spent time with all of the girls. It was a blast. Definitely a great way to end the weekend. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE MY TURN IS A YEAR AWAY NOW! I'm sure the time is going to fly by but I'm gonna do everything I can to make it a wonderful and memorable year.

If any of you can suggest anything or can help me prepare for the pageant next year...I would love your help. You can send me a comment here or email me at stefanievocaek@hotmail.com I appreciate all of your support up to this point and hope to make all of you proud in the months to come!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen