CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The line to buy morel mushrooms stretched a half-block to Sykora Bakery when the sponge-like delicacies went on sale the Saturday morning of Houby Days. Organizers were scrambling to bring in more morels after 120 pounds of the popular item sold out, and hoped to have the mushrooms for sale again […]
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Category: Czech
Houby Days set for comeback in Czech Vil...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – After canceling the 2020 event due to the coronavirus pandemic and holding a scaled-back version last year, supporters are eager to see a return of the popular Houby Days festival to Czech Village. Still, the closure of the 16th Avenue Bridge of Lions due to construction, and other work along the […]
Old-fashioned soda fountain evokes bygon...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Mary Kay Novak McGrath recalls an era when at least two soda fountains served up sodas and other sweet treats in Czech Village pharmacies. “I grew up with great memories of going to get a cherry Coke or Green Rivers,” she said, citing drugstores in Cedar Rapids. Fast-forward decades later and […]
Czech legend of Three Frozen Kings offer...
Few days have tempted gardeners to plant early in Iowa this spring. With daytime temperatures hovering in the 50s and nights even colder, already into May, many gardeners are waiting for more conducive weather. Related: Slow start to morel mushroom season Still, with 70-degree days (hopefully) on the horizon, a Czech legend offers a warning […]
Award honors visionaries in Czech Villag...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Two entrepreneurs and leaders in Czech Village and New Bohemia received special recognition April 20, at an awards luncheon at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. Don Barrigar and Mary Kay Novak McGrath were named the 2022 recipients of the Robert Chadima Visionary Award. The award is presented annually […]
Nearly lost: Rescuing a Czech work of ar...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A mural created more than 60 years ago depicting Czech arts and immigration has found a new home after facing an uncertain future. The mural — a two-section piece by the late artist Edwin Bruns, a contemporary of Grant Wood — is being installed in the Cherry Building, 329 10th Ave. […]
Czech Village shop moves to new location
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A shop at the entrance of Czech Village has relocated to a new site. After more than 6 years at 98 16th Ave. SW, The Create/Exchange is reopening at 615 Center Point Rd. NE. The unique craft supply upcycle and exchange store has filled a niche for crafters and creators with […]
End of an era: Final photos of Czech Vil...
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 […]
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 […]