Houby Days celebrates 40th anniversary in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - A festival that honors Czech heritage and culture marks its 40th anniversary this weekend in Cedar Rapids.

Houby Days takes place Friday through Sunday in Czech Village, which is located in southwest Cedar Rapids near the New Bohemia area. Many of the events take place around 16th Avenue SW.

'Houby” is the Czech word for mushrooms, which are central to the festival. Some specific events of the festival that incorporate the morel mushroom include the egg and houby breakfast and the houby contest.

'The morel mushroom is a very popular thing to eat and has become not only something to hunt (in Cedar Rapids) but evolved into something to celebrate,” said Jennifer Wills, Houby Days pageant director. 'What Czech's love to do is to gather as family and celebrate.”

The Houby Days festivities include a pageant, carnival, live music, dancing, food and a parade, among other events. Admission is free.

'We really need to celebrate the fact that we have this pocket of people here that a lot of us have some sort of connection with through genealogy and (we) can celebrate that right here in Cedar Rapids,” Wills said.

Festival activities kick off with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library's 15th annual Taste of Czech and Slovak from 5-7 p.m. Friday. A carnival, artisan and food vendors and live music take place at the same time. Those activities continue throughout the three-day festival.

The Houby Days Parade, sponsored by the Czech Heritage Foundation, begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade includes floats, Czech organizations, classic cars and the local Czech Royal Court.

The Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa pageant begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with the crowning of a new queen to take place Saturday night during a banquet at the Avacentre, 2121 Bowling St. SW. Tickets for the event are $20 and can be ordered by calling Wills at (319) 491-3229.

Other Czech royalty - the Czech Prince and Princess and Little Brother and Little Sister - will be crowned at noon Sunday at the Kosek Bandstand on 16th Avenue SW.

According to a news release, the boys and girls who compete for Czech Prince and Princess research Czech customs and culture, write an essay and are interviewed by a panel of judges. Winners serve as ambassadors for the Czech Heritage Foundation along with their younger counterparts and Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa in parades, festivals and other events throughout the year.

'It's a very cool pageant to celebrate your heritage. The great thing about it is it's not about beauty. It's about knowing your genealogy and what you can do with it,” Wills said, adding the celebration of Czech heritage is her favorite thing about Houby Days.

l Comments: (319) 368-8538; elianna.novitch@thegazette.com