Czeching out Houby Days

By Jim O’Neal
The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS – Impromptu folk dancers lift pastel ribbons and step lightly around a 20-foot maypole in the garden at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.
A toddler in pink wanders through, touching ribbons as she curtsies beneath them.
A tinny whisper of Bohemian music crosses 16th Avenue SW, losing a tangle with the oldies tunes bumping out from the classic car show.
“Stay, ahhh, just a little bit longer….”
The colors at the car show are bold – sapphire, spark-plug red, windblown flames flickering across factory black.
David Adams, 58, of Cedar Rapids, shows off his ’67 Chevy Stepside Pickup, a gleaming black blend of tradition and innovation. After 14 years of work and $22,000 in parts and paint, this baby isn’t just nice, its license plates insist; it’s “BEONICE.”
In the heart of Czech Village, not a houby to be found, but festival food sizzles and whirls – chicken fajitas, fruit smoothies, shaved ice.
Dick Copeland, 66, of Marion, steadily stirs popcorn in a hot black vat, grateful for the day’s breezy coolness.
Artisans proffer their goods – tie-dyed T-shirts, bling-bling, sparkly crowns of stars with bright cascading ribbons.
In the carnival midway, a barker challenges passers-by to toss a few basketballs.
“There’s a winner every time, folks,” he vows. “Who’s next?”
Kaitlyn Belden plops down from the carousel platform when it drags to a stop, grabs her daddy’s hands, jumps on his feet, begs to go on one more ride.
“Please, Daddy, please! Just one more and that’s it!”
Curtis Belden, 36, of Cedar Rapids, tells her it’s time to see the parade.
It’s the eve of her fifth birthday, but already Kaitlyn is stung by the swiftness of the ride on the painted ponies. “Everything’s too quick,” she complains.
The parade is unpretentious, featuring a Shriners bandwagon, Czech-made motorbikes, dancers shaking blue-and-yellow pompoms. Children scamper after tossed Tootsie Rolls and suckers.
The Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Pageant contestants, Andrea Jansa and Amanda De Hoedt, smile and wave in their custom-made traditional Czech and Slovak folk costumes, called “kroje,” then make their way back past the karaoke singer in Kosek Bandstand and the kids riding ponies on sunlit asphalt.
They display their talents in the museum’s Heritage Hall.
De Hoedt, 15, of Cedar Rapids, steps to the lectern. Her voice clear and animated, she tells a Czech tale of a sly old man confronting a hungry bear.
Jansa, 19, a University of Iowa cheerleader, performs to the Iowa Fight Song, her moves angular and precise.
Outside, the hot-rod owners roll their toys into trailers. A blue-haired clown and yellow-haired cohort amble across the avenue.

Houby Days
– Houby Days, a celebration of Czech and Slovak heritage held in conjunction with the sprouting of morel mushrooms, continues today in Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. At 1:30 p.m., the Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Pageant concludes with the final stages of the competition, held on the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library’s Garden Stage. At 3 p.m., a parade of kroje in the museum garden wi
ll highlight folk costumes of the Czech and Slovak people. For more information, call (319) 364-0001.

Caption:
Duane Crock/The Gazette
Dylan Melichar, 5, of Coggon, and Carl Schulte of Cedar Rapids carry a Houby Days sign while Christin Bailey rolls along on in-line skates dressed as Barney the dinosaur as they take part in the Houby Days parade on Saturday in Czech Village in Cedar Rapids.

This story ran in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa, on May 16, 2004.