Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1999)
he Battalion Aggielife Page 3 • Friday, September 10, 1999 tO Ilf nadji us invok to Cortez, spe. ny Henry, B ; , the ACECc .indent govemr ninority affair i opportunity ract with thei: know that the:- for them on: students whoa: minority arei< e Valley and e problems whe urge university, rom the (Rioi nd up in ad: “xican-Amerks illenge," Car: dents may at: iting to studt y’re not usee e luncheonw Ik to minoriti ill encourage in student c:: leadership roi: it\' communit Sunday ipsilon: Will he' with casual (te i Creek Park. oad Program ational meetiit taly 2000 Prof am 5:30 to 6:1 nd 161 Be DELI luestions? Gill ft inenia Hotline W’ Website: p://Films.ta® ioto Editor k, Graphics Edf on, Graphics Ed il, Opinion Edito 1 , City Editor s, Campus E Web Editor Radio Produce: Eat and be Merry V Caldwell to celebrate annual Kolache Festival with food, song, drink . HEATHER BRONDY The Battalion Burleson County, the heart of central Texas, will beat with Czech-love this Saturday in a cel ebration of Czechoslovakian culture and her itage. Its mascot? The kolache. Caldwell kicks off its 15th annual Kolache Festival Saturday at 9 a.m. and will celebrate well into the wee hours of the night. Bernard Rychlik, festival chair and mayor of Caldwell, said what began as a small kolache bake-off for the town’s women has evolved into an all-out Czech party. “I was there from the start,” Rychlik said. “One day we had a bake-off at the courthouse, and 1 was there translating the English announcements to Czech. Someone said, ‘Hey, this is really fun,’ and the next year they brought out a band and some crafts. From there, it’s just taken off.” The kolache, the star of the festival, is a small, round pastry made with bread dough and stuffed with fruit or meat fillings. Rychlik said the ko lache, which means “something round,” has an interesting history. “The kolache came from the old country and jLr» KIMBER HUFF/Thk Battalion -it* started out much larger than the small pastries sold in bakeries today,” he said. “But it was de cided that it was too hard to eat, so we made it into a finger food.” Rychlik said the funny name comes from a funny story. “One day a woman was making pastries for her daughter when the father came in and grabbed one with his bare hands,” he said. “They were so hot that he started spinning around. His daughter began screaming, ‘Kolache! Kolache!’ which of course means ‘wheel,’ or in other words, something that’s round.” The Kolache Festival is not just about cele brating pastries. Honey Dowdy, festival coor dinator, said the kolache party really has less to do with kolaches and more to do with cel ebrating history. “The Kolache Festival started to revitalize the Czech heritage and celebrate all the wonderful tal ents of the Czech people that migrated here and the generations to follow,” Dowdy said. “It start ed 16 years ago with a bake show, and the show was so successful that we decided to ‘rally around a pastry’ and create a celebration of Kolache.” Dowdy said the festival includes a solid day of music, crafts, dancing, eating, drinking and sim ply getting to know the neighbors. Dowdy said the most satisfying part of the festival is the sense of community the celebration promotes “Many people who have come to the Kolache Festival as visitors have actually moved to Cald well,” Dowdy said. “One industry located here be cause of the community atmosphere experienced at the Kolache Festival by one of the corporate folk’s visit to the festival.” For some people, however, the festival’s music stands out as the highlight of the day. John Duj- ka, a third-generation Czech and one half of The Dujka Brothers band, said he is strongly affected by the music played at the Kolache Festival. “I’ve been twice before, and it’s a lot of fun,” Dujka said. “There’s a lot of great entertainment and arts and crafts, but for me, I really enjoy hear ing the music and drinking some piros, which is the Czech word for beer. That always makes everyone hop a little higher. ” This is the first year the Dujka Brothers will perform at the Kolache Festival. Dujka, a piano The Power to Succeed and music-theory instructor at Blinn College in Brenham, said he and his brother are hoping to add a little twist to the celebration’s traditional music flavor. “We love the music and try to breathe some new life into it,” he said. “We’re not a traditional Czech band. What we like to do is take the tradi tional music and play it using what technology to day will allow us.” Of course, the festival also has its fair share of traditional Czech bands. Leland Miller, a re tired engineer and member of The Kovanda’s Czech Band, said the group’s traditional team of musicians began years ago under the Czech Concert Orchestra, directed by native Czecho slovakian Kovanda. “We played all over,” Miller said. “And when Kovanda returned to Czechoslovakia, a group of us decided to form a band. I’ve played at the Ko lache Festival with this band for the past eight or nine years. “We like the festival because it’s all in one day and everything’s all around the square and it’s just a real happy time.” For Miller, the community atmosphere is one of the most striking elements of the festi val, he said. “That’s kind of the edge to the atmosphere — the camaraderie and friendly community,” he said. Dowdy said approximately 40,000 people are expected to attend the festival. “The final ‘best’ part is the morning after,” Dowdy said. “If you drive through the streets of Caldwell where the festival took place just a few hours previously, you can not find one tell-tale shred of evidence that 40,000-plus people were here.” Dowdy said The Kolache Festival means many things to her. “I guess it’s proof that working together can make wonderful things happen,” she said. “It means that partnerships really work. It means that a sense of community can be tast ed by everyone. It means success is hard work but feels terrific. “It means homecoming, which it has become for every household in Burleson County. All roads lead to Caldwell through the Kolache Festival ” 3th Kohl, David led icci, Jeff Webb & Mf? :lley Atchison, KeniO ams, Cody Wages S*' !nes, Ruben Deluna, eluna. yers, Amy Daugherd leidra Hall, Bobbie® Morris & Kyle Wl* n of Student Publicatifti s: 845.3313,• fa: ampus, local, and natod? aid, and office hows ait I** pyoflbe Battalion, Rist® f.50 for the summer. Hu* MIS/CS AITP RECEPTION HILTON HOTEL SEPTEMBER 14, 1999 7:00 p.m. Visit us at these upcoming events September 15-16 Engineering Career Fair FACTORY BIGW0RDS. com - millions of books out the door and more built daily. SAVE UP TO 40%. FREE DELIVERY! WE PROMISE NOT TO RIP Y00 OFF...(«»«). ROY TEXTR00KS ONLINE. 21 - 22 Business Career Fair October 6-7 Campus Interviews <OLI0 bigwords.com O • limited time offer on orders over $35... and remember, liver !■ P*rt of delivery. O 1099 BIGWORD8, | r asters and Monday tiro# 1 ostage Paid at Colleges)® College Station, It 11$
