Public invited to attend Czech Royal Court events during Houby Days 2018

Members of the Czech Royal Court will be seen throughout the Houby Days celebration in Czech Village. The festival begins Friday, May 18, with the Taste of Czech at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, and ends Sunday, May 20.Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Saddah Hadish, younger members of the Czech Royal Court and visiting Czech queens will participate in the Houby Days Parade, sponsored by the Czech Heritage Foundation. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 19, in New Bohemia and crosses the bridge into Czech Village.The Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Houby Days Celebration will be 1:30 to 3 p.m. that same day inside the museum and will feature kroje modeling and talent performances. Visiting queens will be introduced, along with special guests Colleen Kurmel, a board member and kroje expert with the Omaha Czech-Slovak Museum and Education Center, and mother of Meagan Kurmel-Gibbs, Miss Czech-Slovak U.S. 2015-2016; Steve Ourecky, of Wilber, Nebraska, editor of the Czech Slavnosti newspaper, officer of the Nebraska Czechs Inc. and member of the Kansas Czechs; and Miss Czech-Slovak US 2017-2018 Madeline Hecker of Prague, Oklahoma.Music will be provided by the Czech Plus Band and a reception will follow. All are invited to attend.The new Czech Royal Court will be crowned at noon on Sunday, May 20, at the Kosek Bandstand. The event will move inside the museum in case of rain. The public is invited to attend.Czech Princes and Princesses are ages 12 to 16, while Czech Little Brothers and Little Sisters are ages 6 to 12.The current Royal Court includes Little Brothers and Little Sisters Lars and Ingrid Landa, son and daughter of Craig and Christine Landa; Davis and Danika Robe, son and daughter of John and Holly Robe; Alexander and Grace Sherman, son and daughter of Peter and Radka Sherman; Myah Morgan, the daughter of J.C. Morgan and Tiffany Morgan; Allyanna Pokorny, daughter of Michael and Angel Pokorny; and Natalie Hopkins, daughter of Emily Zimmerman and Seth Hopkins.Czech Princes and Princesses are Branden and Victoria Knight, the son and daughter of Tom and Karen Knight; Drake Hromidko, the son of Heidi Hromidko and Mike Ainesworth; and Rachael Brandon, the daughter of Jeremy and Jennifer Wills and Jason and Andrea Brandon. Isabel Sherman, daughter of Peter and Radka Sherman, is Mladší Princezna, meaning “younger princess” and Jonathan Carrick, son of Laurie and David Carrick, is Mladší Princ, or “younger prince.”Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Saddah Hadish is the daughter of Steve and Mari Hadish of Cedar Rapids.Members of the Czech Royal Court serve as young ambassadors for the Czech Heritage Foundation in festivals and other events throughout the year. Applications for the 2019 Czech Royal Court can be found on this website.