Czech Festival a homecoming, reunion for many

WILBER -- Shirley Znamenacek dragged some lawn chairs to a shady spot across from the grocery store, ensuring her and her family prime spots for the afternoon parade.

It was Saturday morning, Day 2 of the 47th annual Wilber Czech Festival, and Znamenacek wanted a good spot to watch her daughters, Denise Knuppel and Delorie Case, who come home each year to march in the Wilber-Clatonia Alumni Band. Case, of Fremont, is the band’s majorette; Knuppel, Fort Collins, Colo., plays the clarinet.

The rest of the family waves from the sidelines, Znamenacek makes lots of food and her Wilber home becomes family headquarters for the weekend.

So, the festival becomes part family reunion, part high school reunion.

Many of those who attend the nationally known Czech festival have ties to Wilber, but many others don’t. Instead, they attend out of an interest in Czech culture and history, out of a love of small-town festivals, out of sheer curiosity.

“We’re just here for a day of seeing the parade and seeing stuff,” said Brian Kell, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate student who was celebrating his 25th birthday on Saturday.

Kell has attended the Czech festival the past three or four years, he said. This year, he brought fellow grad students Yanqiu Guo and Kangni Li, who are both from China.

They ate duck and pork and dumplings at the Hotel Wilber, then visited the town’s Czech museum and watched the parade, which included marching bands, polka bands on flatbed trailers pulled by pickup trucks, an array of vintage tractors, Czech Queens from across Nebraska and the United States, including Alaska, and one float that included a giant teeter-totter, an outhouse, and, inexplicably, a large stuffed bear.

Norman and Joyce Michal came from Colorado for the weekend. He is of Czech descent but she is of German descent. She had never had a kolace before Saturday.

Norman Michal spent some time at the library, researching his genealogy. He visited the grave of his grandfather. The Michals also watched a historical program Friday night about Czech history, ate lots of Czech food and checked out the car show.

Norman Michal was right in his element, his wife said.

“He loves it so -- all the commotion going on and the parade.”

Phil and Bernie Stephenson came all the way from Florida for the festival. Their grandson lives in Lincoln, and they’d heard about it for years.

“The tractors were wonderful,” Bernie Stephenson said.

And they also did some shopping, buying Czech-themed T-shirts for an acquaintance with Czech ties.

Saturday afternoon, Joyce Michal still had one more thing on her list of things to do at the festival.

“My goal is to have a kolace,” she said.

The festival ended Sunday evening with the Miss Czech-Slovak USA Pageant. The new queen is Sandy Ptak of Alaska, believed to be the first Miss Czech from there.