This year, the visit to Dallas was different in a lot of ways.  For the first time, I took a good look at the reasons for visiting this particular festival.  When I was growing up, we went to the NPF to visit with family and friends.  As any good Czech, Catholic family would be, my extended family was (is) huge.  I can remember many cousins, god-parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles, all visiting and enjoying the atmosphere that felt so familiar complete with the food, beer, music, and dancing.  As time has gone by, many of the cousins have moved on.  Some of my grand-parents have passed away and some of them don’t care to come anymore.  My mother, the 100% Czech part of the family, has passed on and my God-mother, who was always the anchor of the dancing part of my family had a stroke a few years back and is in a home, not doing well, from what I’ve been told.

This year, the festival was fun, as it always is.  However, that is the interesting thing, this year, Scott and I realized that the NPF is always the same.  We always arrive the same day, go to the same venues, see the same art vendors downtown and the same bands in the halls.  The parade never changes and the menu at the dance-halls, although contains some authentic Czech fare, has not changed in at least 10 years.  Seriously, the menu consists of Barbeque Beef & Klobase, Parsley Potatoes, Green Beans (not sure what is Czech about that), Sauerkraut (German?), and Czech Pastries (Kolaches).  If you stay until Sunday, you get Pork Roast and Dumplings (Knedliky).  The tunes played are now 50% Czech and 50% Country and Western.  The one new thing the festival did this year was bring in a magician, yes, that is right, a magician, to entertain.  I think it was this last development that actually sealed our decision (see below).  Although we had a good time, we will not be attending the NPF for several years to come.  Perhaps absence will make the heart grow fonder.

Don’t get me wrong here, I am actually impressed and pleased that the folks in Ennis can still keep a folk festival alive in today’s culture and society.  I know it is insanely difficult to reach the younger generation and I applaud them for trying to do things each year that will draw the younger crowd.  See this post for more information on how the NPF folks could better reach the younger crowd.  The beef I have with the management of this festival is that the young are being reached at the expense of the purity of the culture.  My question is this: WHAT IS CZECH ABOUT A MAGICIAN??

My reasons for taking my money and time elsewhere are not only due to the festival changing, but due to out growing this festival and a desire to see how other Czechs hold their festivals in other parts of this country and beyond.  Therefore, next year we will be heading for the Wilber Czech Festival in Wilber, Nebraska.  In an effort to start a new tradition with the younger folks in our family and to try to carry on the Czech heritage, we have asked our kids and grand-kids to join us in Wilber, as well as my parents.  All have agreed to wear costumes for the event.  I will be making those and posting progress photos throughout the next year on this blog.  It is nice to be excited again about attending a Czech festival.  I am sure the festival in Wilber has many of the same issues, namely, familiarity to those who attend every year, but it will be new to us and we are looking forward to it.

Finally, I leave you with photos from this year’s festival.  I do have a video of Scott and I dancing, but am working out a deal for cash to keep it from being posted.  HaHa!  As I said, we did have a good time, but also a reflective one.  Enjoy ~ až později

The trip to the festival:

The King and Queen Competition:

Czech Musicians (one of these is my cousin:

Random photos of fun:

This year I decided to spruce up and adjust some of the current costume components.  Starting with my red skirt that I made for the festival two years ago.  This skirt had four huge bias panels in it and was ridiculously heavy to wear.  After about 2 hours work, one of the panels is now removed and it is much lighter.  When I made it I was unsure if there would be enough “swing” and so I put in the four panels.  After wearing it at the 2009 festival, I realized that three would have still provided plenty of swing without weighing me down quite as much as I moved.  So, the adjustment has been made.  I’ll be adding a little bling here and there to the red and the purple costumes, ironing, and fluffing, etc.  Then we pack them up and head out for the Memorial Day Weekend festivities in Ennis, TX.  If you actually read this blog and are anywhere in the area (and are not a stalker) come to the festival and see if you can find us.  Sort of a modern day “where’s Waldo”…

Quote of the week: “This is Serious!!” Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Ebby and me at the Mississippi border.

Closeup of the Chihuahua with an attitude!

Ebby and me at the Louisiana Border

Ebby and me at the Texas border.

The trip back was another story.  There were three of us, Me, Scott, and our three year old grandson William in the front cab of our little truck for the 14 hour trip back home.  Ebby lived in my lap the entire ride back.  All is well though.  We made it home without incident, unless you count the first hour in the truck when William turned to me and basically lost all his orange juice he had taken in before we left.  It was a mess, but we survived.

This year my dad and I competed in the King and Queen Dance again.  There were 21 couples competing this year and we didn’t even make it past the first cut.  We had fun though and the couple who won were far superior dancers and will represent the festival well in the year to come.

Pardon the No Smoking sign, the moment was right so the photo was taken.

It is so wonderful for a daughter to be able to dance with her father!

Are we having fun yet? or Will this song ever end?

My Daddy and Me!

All the contestants are positioned around the dance floor.

Here is the video of our 2009, meager attempt at stardom…

On Saturday, we went to the parade as usual, but the parade was a huge disappointment this year.  Not only did it start about an hour late because of an inadvertently parked train across the intersection, but there were bands included in the floats that had absolutely NOTHING with Czech heritage, except perhaps that the members were residents of the greater Ennis area.  These bands were beyond metal in flavor and there was not a polka to be found.  Sad, really.  If Ennis wants to do something to promote the Polka Festival in the future they might want to try updating the website and begin thinking “nationally” again.  They are, after all, the National Polka Festival.  Ok, rant is over…  The best part of the parade for me was seeing Ebby all decked out in her costume.  She is truly a Czech/Mex dog!  Ha Ha

This is why the parade is late!!

Am I handsome or what?

Nana, William, Bryan (my son), Sara (his wife), and Ebby waiting for the parade

We will not be attending this festival next year (or probably for a few years to come), mainly because we want to go visit some other festivals in other parts of the country.  Now that I have my supply of costumes, we can dance in style throughout Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Ohio, to name a few.  Stay tuned here for updates on our adventures to a polka festival near you.

Here is the vest that I asked you all to help me with choosing the trim colors and configuration.  I went with option #2 and then spiced up the configuration to give the vest a “look at me” quality, an essential quality when involved in a dance contest.  Let me know what you think…good or bad, constructive critisim is always welcome!

Front of Dad's Vest

Back of Dad's Vest

The dress ensemble is mine to wear in the King and Queen Polka Dance Contest. The slacks, shirt and vest combination are for my father who will be competing with me. Let’s face it, I would look pretty silly out there dancing alone!!

I also made a vest to match my dress for my husband, Scott, who, although he likes to dance with me, does not embrace the same competitive gene that my father and I possess. Last, but not least, the little vest at the bottom left belongs to my grandson, William, who, if I have anything to do with it, will be learning some really cool dance steps next month.

This project was a lot of fun. There was no knitting involved, but the sewing, lace, hand embroidery, and trim work allowed me to be creative and do my own thing. I already have my color scheme picked out for next year’s costume. We are seriously going to have to investigate going to Illinois, Nebraska or Wisconsin for some other festivals during the year. Why save these costumes for only once a year?

We are finally getting back in the swing of things here at the house (pun intended) after being gone over the Memorial Day Holiday. The weather here is so dry compared to what it was this year in Ennis, TX. Everyday we were there it rained and was basically soupy everywhere you walked.

Thursday morning we left for Texas after dropping the dogs off at the Doggy Hotel. They seem to love it there. When we walked in both dogs just walked through the door to the kennel in the back without even saying goodbye. It was kind of funny.

We spent the night in Shreveport, LA at one of our favorite hotels. Dining that night was at a little local place called the Blind Tiger. The resturant has this name because apparently when it was founded, during prohibition, the term “blind tiger” was used for establishments that had alchol available in a back room, etc.

Friday evening we went to the K.J.T. where the King and Queen contest was being held and the first dancing of the weekend was to be found. We were not overly impressed with the band as they seemed to be highly unorganized and took very long breaks between each song they played. The evening held a pleasant surprise for us though as we visited with my extended family we found out that my cousin Lindsey was going to be competing in this year’s contest. It was a last minute decision on her part and finding a costume was apparently quite an ordeal. She was able to rent one though and she looked fabulous!!

In the photo above I am wearing a top that I made to go with Scott’s new costume vest. Unfortunately we did not get a photo of the two of us wearing them at the same time.

When it came time for the contest we all stood around one corner of the dance floor and whooped and hollered for her and her partner. They were such a perfect match and two of the best dancers out there. We were so excited when they won!

Saturday morning we made it to the parade route just as it was beginning. It was already drizzling when we arrived and the rain continued to get heavier until the parade ended. The street dance was called off and we really felt sorry for the vendors this year since all of their venue is outside.

We met my Dad again this year at the Sokol and made the rounds of the three halls throughout the day dancing and eating and dancing some more. We also ran into Joe again this year and I danced a couple of polkas and waltzes with him. He is a very good dancer, but the main thing he likes to do is spin in circles. So, when I feel like spinning I dance one with Joe and try to keep from getting dizzy. At least this year I remembered to bring more sensible shoes. Scott wore his new costume vest and I wore my costume from last years festival. Next year I will be wearing a new costume that I have already started working on.

Sunday we attended the Polka Mass at the Knights of Columbus. The songs throughout the service were done to Czech music and prior to the service the Choir, in costume, were singing Czech hymns. When service concluded we headed on over to the Sokol to hear Vrazel’s Polka Band and so I could enjoy one last set of dances with my dad for the year.

I was sad to see this one end, but there is always (hopefully) next year.

We left the festival and went out to Mom’s place in the country. The property they have is quite secluded and completely surrounded by trees. Clearing the property has been something they have enjoyed doing and the area for the house is pretty much ready for construction to begin. There is a beautiful oak tree on their property that is just screaming for a tree house and I have been meaning to take a picture of it, so it is down below. This tree will be just off the back of the house when it is built so I wanted a photo pre-house.

Anyway, I gave mom her Mother’s Day present, a bit late, and she seemed to be pleasantly surprised. Then we gathered up our belongings and headed for their lake house to spend the night. We had a wonderful fire in the fire pit and Scott caught a very nice bass.

The next day we had a family get together/cookout. Everyone brought something and we had a nice visit with my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. On the last full day we had with Mom she and I took off early, ate breakfast at a diner and hit the thrift shops as soon as they opened. I came away with 11 pairs of shorts, several tops, and two pair of jeans. The guys loaded the trailer with the last of our storage stuff while we shopped.

The trip this year was much different than last years and I really can’t wait for next year! The reservations are made and the countdown has begun. Whoo-Hooo!!

Saturday’s activities started early. We made it to Ennis by 9am so we could get a parking spot for the downtown events. We landed a great parking spot and then went to a little grassy area on the side of the railroad tracks that gave us a good view of the parade route. Here I am again in my costume waiting for the parade to start. Scott said I looked like a little girl in the first one. Hmmmmm.

The parade started at 10am and like most parades had cheerleaders, bands, vehicles, clowns and of course horses. One thing that is different about this parade is that the floats are carrying the Czech bands on them and the demonstration dancers from Ohio and Oklahoma. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

After the parade we walked through the vendor booths downtown. Of course, there were food vendors too so I had possibly the largest corn dog I have ever had and Scott had a boring hot dog. I was able to get a souvenir cup though. HAHA

When we finished walking around downtown it was off to the halls for another afternoon and evening of dancing. We went to the Sokol hall to see the Dujka Brothers play and while we were there we saw a demonstration by the Sokol Greater Cleveland Folk Dancers. Their demonstration was a reenactment of a Czech village ceremony of sorts that welcomed in Summer. They did this by doing several dances and then the women of the “village” danced around the Maypole. The end result of this weaving of ribbons around the Maypole can be seen by the braid at the top of the pole when they are finished.

We had dinner at this hall that, for Scott at least, consisted of pork roast, dumplings, parsley potatoes, green beans and sauerkraut. I waited for the next hall where I could get some great bar-b-que.

When the folk dancers were about finished we headed over to the KC hall again where we would spend the remainder of the day and evening. While we were there we were treated to two of the finest Polka bands in the southwest, Vrazels’ Polka Band and the Jodie Mikula Orchestra. The halls are always packed when they are playing.

My dad and step mom were able to join us here and I got in as much dancing with my dad as I could before they had to leave.

Before my dad left he snapped this photo of Scott and I dancing. Isn’t this a cool picture and doesn’t it look like Scott is having a good time?

One of the things I think is great about this festival is that it is for the entire family. Kids in this culture are taught to dance at a very young age and they get to know others of the same heritage. The kids that attend the festival take to the floor during every intermission and play slip and slide on the dance floor. In order to make the floor slippery enough for dancing the halls put down a dust all over the hardwood and the kids love it, too!

I am not sure if we drove the car back to the hotel or if it drove us because we were so exhausted and our feet hurt a lot. The bands stopped playing at 12:30am and we made it back to the hotel around 1. I don’t think I have ever felt a more comfortable bed (at least that is what I was thinking then). Sunday morning came a little too soon for our tired legs, but we just had to return for one last day of festival fun. To be continued…..