CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The legacy of a Czech Village meat market isn’t lost on Steven Prochaska, who is closing shop on the last remaining one. His great-grandfather, Jerry Prochaska, a Czech immigrant to the United States in the early 1900s when he was just a toddler, eventually worked at Polehna’s Meat Market, an iconic […]
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Category: Czech
Czech festival in Iowa returns with trad...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Aside from gusty winds that played havoc with cash and sheet music, the weather could not have been more picture-perfect for the comeback of a long-running festival that was sidelined last year by the coronavirus pandemic and Iowa’s hurricane-strength derecho. Czech Goulash Day, celebrated in various forms for the past 99 […]
Cedar Rapids parish works to overcome de...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church is preparing a post-derecho comeback by hosting its popular festival, Czech Goulash Day, on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, after a one-year absence. Like many places in Cedar Rapids, the church sustained damage during the August 2020 derecho, including a severe hit to its Glovik Parish Center. The […]
Czech, Slovak culture celebrated as muse...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library celebrated the belated 25th anniversary of a monumental event with a weekend full of activities. On a chilly day on Oct. 21, 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Czech President Václav Havel and Slovak President Michal Kováč visited Cedar Rapids to dedicate the museum’s […]
New businesses help energize New Bohemia...
By Cindy Hadish/for the Corridor Business Journal New businesses are bringing new energy to the Cedar Rapids Main Street District, as many owners seek to leave 2020 in the rear-view mirror. “This past year has been hard,” said Carol Elliott, owner of Aroma Artisan Pizza, which offers wood-fired pizza at the NewBo City Market, as […]
Photos: Czech Village hosts 2021 scaled ...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Organizers hosted a scaled-down version of the popular Houby Days festival, one year after the annual event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kicking off with a concert by the Czech Plus Band on Friday, May 14, 2021, the event continued into Saturday with street vendors, food and more. The […]
Czech Three Kings lore warns gardeners o...
Temperatures that soared into the upper 80s in Iowa and elsewhere in the Midwest this weekend are giving way to overnight lows in the 30s. While a hard freeze isn’t predicted, at least for now, it’s not unheard of to have a late-season frost in Iowa. Czech lore, brought to the United States by immigrants, […]
Giant mushroom appears in Czech Village ...
By Cindy Hadish CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Czech Village has found a silver lining from last year’s derecho. The hurricane-strength windstorm uprooted trees and created havoc throughout Iowa, hitting the Cedar Rapids area particularly hard. Trees that toppled in Czech Village damaged restrooms next to the Kosek Bandstand, but one of those is now serving […]
Auction signals end of era for family-ow...
By Cindy Hadish BELLE PLAINE, Iowa — Auction-goers here will bid on bits of history from a family-owned business that spanned generations in central Iowa. A multitude of tools, fans, rakes, air compressors, fishing gear and numerous other eclectic items crowd tables and floor space at Weeda Auction Service in Belle Plaine, ready for the […]
Looking back: Cedar Rapids Cultural Cele...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Just before social distancing became de rigueur, the Czech Heritage Foundation was among organizations to participate in the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s Community Cultural Celebration & Expo. The event, held March 7, serves as an illustrative example that understanding our differences can bring us closer together. Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart […]