Tabor Czech Days

As my year as queen was coming to an end I wanted to make the most of it. I had to make one more out of state trip! ;)

I went to Tabor Czech days back in 2005 and it was an awesome festival. I was looking forward to taking my family there for them to experience. It's so wonderful to go to different states and see how each one celebrates a bit differently but there are many similarities. I feel like this is how it would be if you went to the different towns in the Czech Republic or Slovakia.

We got there a bit early because I thought the parade was earlier than it was. This gave us a chance to walk around a bit and see all of the kolace they had ready and more. I was excited to get to see Jennifer again and talk to her a bit before our big weekend in Wilber in a few short weeks. I was lucky to get to ride through in the parade with the wonderful Wilber Czech Slovak Prince and Princess, Julia and John, which was very helpful because all we had was a van and I guess I could have rode on top but may not have been the nicest presentation. HEHE! Thanks to their family I got to ride in a new Mustang convertible with them. I also got to meet the contestants competing for the Czech Days Queen title. I got to watch them model their kroj and perform their talents before the day was over. I was very excited to get to hear Math Sladky's band back together again and playing a LONG job in town. It's always fun to see some familiar faces around when you're far away from home. One of the highlights of the day for me is watching the Tabor Beseda dancers. There are SO MANY of them and they are all different ages. If you have time to watch this I would definitely recommend it.

We had to leave right after the Beseda dancers finished as I had to be in Clarkson bright and early on Saturday for the Nebraska pageant. This is another festival I would recommend to anyone if you have the time be sure to "Czech" it out! ;)

Spanem Bohem!
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen

Valparaiso Accordion Jam and Parade

I can't believe how fast a year goes by. It seems like just a few months back I was playing in the Valparaiso accordion jam and finally believing that I might actually be able to play that squeeze box pretty well someday. :) I was excited to get to go back and play with some of my polka friends. It's always great to see Dottie Sladky too!

Since Math Sladky was from Valparaiso they dedicated their celebration this year to him. Dottie had a bunch of his band members get together and they played together on a float with a large picture of him on it. It was sad but I know he was watching down over all of us and was very proud to hear the polka music being carried on. It was great to see lots of royalty there representing too. I'm so proud of this years royalty for being so active and involved in events around the state and beyond. I hope they'll keep it up!

After the parade was complete we went over to Dottie's house and had a jam with a group of musicians on her porch. It was a great time and I look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

Spanem Bohem!
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen

Capital City Woodcarvers Anniversary Party

I know you don't believe it but it was another busy day! After attending the South Central Czech Festival in Hastings I had to make it back to Lincoln for the Capital City Woodcarvers 40th Anniversary Party where they asked me to speak and perform while they celebrated their accomplishments in the past 40 years. I have a special tie to this club as my dad has been a member since I remember. We used to attend events and I tried my hand a carving (and got bored very easily so I admire those who have the patience and steady hand to do it.) We also went camping with members of the club so many of them have watched me grow into the Czech-Slovak queen I am today! :)

They let me have a few minutes to eat as they talked about the history of the club and did some sharing of new carvings they had finished recently. I spoke about my Czech Heritage, my year as queen, and opportunity I had at the Miss Czech Slovak US pageant. I was excited to hear that so many people wanted to learn more about their heritage after hearing me speak and they even planned to have a heritage day with the club so everyone could share what they learned after a few months. It is important to get our younger generations involved but I think we often forget to encourage adults to learn more so I was very excited about this. Next I played my accordion and sang a bit. Of course my dad made me share my story of how I got my accordion....or should I say accordions now! :D Everyone had a great time and as usual the toes were tapping by the time we were done. I am so happy that they thought to invite me to be a part of this celebration.

Spanem Bohem!
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen

South Central Czech Festival - The Last to Crown Their 2010 Queen

I couldn't believe that the South Central Festival had already arrived. It seemed like just yesterday I was wearing my new kroj for the first time and preparing for the state pageant!

It was going to be another busy day with playing in the accordion jam, performing my Blue Skirt Waltz, helping with the crowning, and having to head out of town to make it to another event in Lincoln!

The accordion jam was a lot of fun and we had a performance with all of the women accordion players together. It was fun to show off how many of us there were at the jam! :) I did my performance that I won the state title with (and only had one mishap with the props! LOL!) Then we crowned the new 2010 South Central Czech Slovak Queen. Erin was a past queen who decided to run again. YIPPEE! :) They handed me the mic and let me take the stage with all of the queens and have them introduce them then told them I was going to ask each of them a question and put them on the spot before the state pageant. I think I had a few of them a bit nervous based on the looks I got from them. HAHA! As expected they all did an awesome job! Next Willie asked me a few questions and then started telling everyone how I only had a few more days left as queen. After all of that I walked on stage and had my first of what I assume will be many tears because this amazing journey as your state queen is coming to an end. I have to keep in mind that I will be competing for the national title and this could just be the beginning of another journey!

I had a great time at the South Central Festival and I look forward to attending again in the near future!

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

Friend Manor

Brad was invited to play at the Friend Manor but has to work on Fridays and luckily that is my day off so I took the job! :) I was excited but nervous to perform without him. I was lucky to have Sue Underwood agree to come along so I was A LOT less stressed when she agreed. I also had the Miller Crew there to back me up and Kelsey came along too. Sue and I played a few and I sang for everyone. Blair, Blaze, and Shayla (a few of our chapter prince and princesses) danced and Shayla even played her accordion. Kelsey and I shared a bit about our years and I put her on the spot and asked her a few questions. I got to meet a good friend of my mom's from years ago (who was her Maid of Honor in her wedding) and some of the residents who knew my family. It was a lot of fun and I hope that they'll invite me back again someday!

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

Another Birthday Celebration at Madonna

We had such a great time at Madonna last time we were there for their Birthday celebration and was excited to have another invitation.

We played some polka music and got all of the residents feet tapping and then spent some time telling everyone about my journeys as the Nebraska Czech Slovak Queen. After we finished performing I got to spend a bit of time visiting with the residents before we packed up. We even had some residents who were back to hear us perform again after the last time we came. (Guess we weren't too bad after all! HEHE!) I hope we get to go back one of these days and visit everyone again.

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

Wilber "Czech It Out" Festival

I was really excited when Kim Z from Wilber said she really wanted to have a "Czech It Out" festival there and she was willing to help. I know I want this to grow and expand and figured that Wilber would be a great place to host another event as they have lots of kids who dance and this would be a great way for them to get involved before this summer when dance practice starts. After a busy MONTH I was pretty tired getting going that morning but had a great time working with Kim and her kids, Laura M and her kids, Laura S, and Kelsey H to get everything set up. I was thankful for a great group of volunteers coming to help once again. :) I definitely couldn't do all of the things I do without a huge group of supporters!!! This time the crowd was a lot smaller. We only had about 20 kids but we had a blast and I enjoyed having the time to get to go to each station and help the kids do the activities. I hope the kids had as much fun as I did and I look forward to the next "Czech It Out" Festival. Thanks again to all of my wonderful volunteers!

Spanem Bohem!
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen

Cedar Rapids...After the Flood

I had traveled to Cedar Rapids in 2004 to go to their Houby Days festival and was excited to return and see how much the town had changed since the flood.

We got there early enough to change and get ready for the day but not too much time! Lucky for me we left really early but I slept the whole way with Blair (the Lincoln Czech Slovak Princess and my little sis) so the trip went by a lot quicker than normal. :) As always the Czech people were VERY welcoming and helpful. I participated in the parade of kroj and then we went through the actual parade. We walked around town and I was SO EXCITED when I realized how our youth in Nebraska is truly getting involved. Nebraska was represented by myself (Nebraska Czech Slovak Queen) and 3 princesses! (Blair - Lincoln Czech Slovak Princess, Julia - Wilber Czech Slovak Princess, and Lexie - Omaha Czech Slovak Princess) It was pretty special to me because these girls are all such great promoters of our heritage and I'm so proud of each of their accomplishments as royalty! We had a blast doing the monkey walk and just having fun together. We met people from all over Iowa and beyond. I got to see the the new MN queen again and the David's who hosted me in MN when I attended their pageant. It was really interesting to see how many houses were still abandoned and almost all of the businesses and buildings had some sort of symbol of how high the water was during the flood. Some were way above my reach and others waist level. They say that a flood is like a tornado that lasts longer and this really made it hit home. After helping with my aunt and uncles house after the Hallam tornado I can only imagine how things were for the people who lived in this area. It shows you how strong the community is and determined not to let this stand in their way. Kudos to you Cedar Rapids!

Oh I almost forgot to share what I learned. They call their festival Houby Days. In the Czech Republic and many Czech communities mushroom hunting is an enjoyable pastime. I don't thing we see it much in Nebraska as there isn't many wooded areas for the mushrooms to grow. It was fun to see their competition categories and see the biggest houby, smallest, best decorated background for their houby. Now I just need to find someone to cook me one because I was told they are the BEST!

After a day of running around town and enjoying all the sights and sounds of Cedar Rapids we headed to the Miss Czech Slovak Iowa pageant. Since Brad and I didn't have a change to play accordion at all before the pageant we stood outside and played for people as they walked in. The contestants were great and I had a great time seeing how another pageant runs and what is expected of each contestant. I was also asked to perform my talent for everyone so I sang and played the Blue Skirt Waltz. It was a great time and I had fun meeting Beth Westlake the new Miss Czech Slovak IA before and after she was crowned! We're gonna have so much fun in Wilber this year. So far all of the girls I have met have been so awesome!!! :) Look out Czech Days....ready or not....here we come!!!

I definitely recommend hitting this festival if you have the time. The people are wonderful and I can't thank everyone there enough for their hospitality to me and all my princesses! :) I hope to make it back again next year.

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

Florence Days Parade

I was looking forward to the first parade of the year and started searching for something earlier than June. I was excited to find a parade in Omaha. After finding out more I was told this was probably the biggest parade in Omaha.

Since we were headed that way anyways we stopped in Elkhorn and picked out trim for my new kroj. I could look at their stuff for hours...and hours...and hours...and well yea you get the point...and we did! HAHA! We didn't finalize everything before we left so we had to go back after the parade and finish up.

Since the new Wilber Czech-Slovak Prince and Princess live in Omaha they met me there to ride through the parade with me. I was bummed that more of the queenies couldn't come but had a blast with Julia and John and had fun getting to know them better. It was hilarious because my aunt had a birthday party to go to after the parade so she was buying items from vendors along the road as we were going along. :)

We went back to pick out trims and I finally made up my mind. We picked trim for my skirt, Brad's vest, Harleena's pants, and more! :) I think I should own a business like this someday so I don't keep spending so much! It is all sooooo beautiful. I was so grateful that they let us come in there on a Saturday and pick things out. If you ever need trims let me know because I know the best place around to get them! :)


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

Lincoln Czech Festival - The First of the Farewells

Well...as I said in my title this was the first of my farewells this year. Not to the people, or events, or the memories but to my title as the current queen. I can't believe that my journey as a Czech-Slovak queen started 6 years ago at the 2004 Lincoln Czech Festival where I was crowed the 2004 Lincoln Czech-Slovak queen. I was so excited to represent all of the Czech and Slovak people in Lincoln and have continued to do this...crown or no crown....ever since.

This year I have taken over the membership committee, newsletter committee, the festival vendor committee, and helped with the accordion jam. This made for a busy few months getting ready for the festival. I've had fun learning to work on all of these things and look forward to continuing and growing in these committees.

As it was in previous years...it was going to be a busy day.

I started by singing the US and Czech national anthems. I still want to learn the Slovak national anthem so I can sing it but since I couldn't sing it I settled for playing it after the Czech national anthem.

Next was the first of the 2 accordion jams for the day. I played for a while and tried to see everyone who had come to the festival from out of town or even out of state.

This year I had the idea to start a booth for polka CDs. (I figured with my idea and Brad's connections with artists it would be fun for people to have one way of getting a hold of a variety of different CDs and have them available in one place for everyone to buy.) I did my best to spend time at the booth but it was hard with so many things going on. I can't thanks Sandy and her parents enough for helping out when I couldn't be around the booth. Brad even sold one AUTOGRAPHED copy of his CD. :) To a princess no less! The Omaha Princess asked him to autograph her CD after she got her own copy instead of having to borrow her grandparents or aunt's all the time.

Next event I was part of was the farewell of the 2009 Royalty, Introductions of Chapter Queens, and 2010 Coronation. I tried to be tricky and about 5 mins before this started I changed my crown and sash back to my "2009 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen" gear. :) First they introduced the 2009 royalty but unfortunately my prince and princess weren't there. I gave a few words for my farewell thanking the special people in the club who have helped me so much. Next they went to introduce the 2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak queen. I hid behind all the other girls and they held their hands up so I could quickly change my crown and sash back to my Nebraska stuff then popped up from behind them. We all got a good laugh about it. I introduced each of the chapter royalty and a few from the national court. Then it was crowning time! I was excited to crown Marie and get her started in her year as queen. She found out about all of this as my aunt and mom were buying fabric for my kroj. Mom got her info and I emailed her then met her for coffee one evening and we talked about it. I was so happy when she decided to run! The new prince and princess were pretty special to me also as they rode through a few parades with me when my prince and princess couldn't be there. Blaze and Blair are also going to be wonderful representatives of the Lincoln Club!

Mom switched up the program and had all of the royalty play musical chairs. She may not do this next year as crowns can hurt if you headbutt people and kroj is delicate...luckily no serious injuries or kroj ruined in the making of this blog. HAHA!

Next we were supposed to have a beginners accordion jam but only one person showed up for it. We ended up having Shayla come up later and Shandra, Brad, and I played along with her. I love seeing the younger generations playing!! :)

I spent most of the rest of the afternoon at the CD booth and came back up at the end to play in the 2nd accordion jam for a while. I was excited to almost be the owner of a 2nd accordion by that time! Yea...a 2nd accordion...a Kuchar no less! When I got to the festival I walked around to thank each of the vendors for coming and being a part of our day. When I got to the dumpling demo that the NE Czechs of York took over this year...there was a BEAUTIFUL ivory...SQUARE BUTTON...Kuchar sitting next to their table with a sign that said "For Sale" I couldn't' believe my eyes! I told them they may as well put it away because either Brad or I was gonna buy it before the end of the day. About 20 mins later Brad got there and no more than 5 mins later came to me and said "Oh my gosh did you see that accordion?!?!" I told him I had and what I told them. We immediately went over and asked them if we could put it behind the table. When my dad got to the festival I told him about it and asked him..."So how is the farm account doing?" LOL! He wrote a check to Franklin before the end of the day and now I have 2 square key beauties! Next is getting new straps for it because it is heavier because it has shifts and the straps aren't very padded. Now I need to start practicing more! (In my free time! HA!)

As always it was an awesome day and I look forward to next year!

Spanem Bohem!
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen