By Shelbi LeMeilleur
Every year on the second Saturday of September, Caldwell transforms from a small Czech town to a bustling festival ground. A city that normally has a population around 4,000 welcomes upwards of 20,000 people for the ever-popular Kolache Festival — a celebration of the Czech culture engrained in Caldwell.
There is something for everyone in the family to enjoy at the Kolache Festival. Guests can browse through the 200-plus arts and crafts booths, revel in the masterpieces at the quilt show, explore the local attractions and museums, enjoy the street rod and classic car show, stuff themselves silly with fresh kolaches, and so much more. With so much to do, it’s hard to imagine how much the festival has changed in 34 years.
“It started out as just a cooking contest — a kolache baking fest,” says 2018 Kolache Festival Chairman Janice Easter. “The very first festival wasn’t even really advertised very much, but it was a whole lot of fun, so it continued to grow on the baking contest, and of course, the celebration of the Czech heritage.”
In the earlier festivals, the 100 percent Czech people who first started and participated in the festival crowned a King and Queen (usually a married couple) who continued to keep the Czech heritage alive in Burleson County, according to Easter. “Unfortunately, a lot of them have passed away,” she says. “That’s kind of why they started doing a Kolache Queen, which is a younger girl.”
Another way the Kolache Festival displays the Czech heritage is through the Beseda Dancers.
“This is a group of kids that comes to us from our local or county SPJST lodges,” explains Easter. “I think last year the Caldwell, New Tabor, Snook Beseda dancers were the last two remaining circles in the whole state, but they are still actively dancing. … We certainly want to feature them because it’s an old Czech dance. Our local kids — county kids — are keeping it alive.”
Of course, one of the main attractions is in the name — the kolaches. The Baking Contest is still a large part of the festival, awarding cash prizes in three categories: local, state, and professional. However, the Kolache Festival is also notorious for the early-formed lines of festivalgoers waiting to get their hands on freshly baked kolaches.
“We’ve been known to run out [of kolaches],” says Nicole Hearne, executive director of the Burleson Chamber of Commerce. “I think our bakers that come now know to bring [a lot] — I mean, they are bringing hundreds of dozens now. … They will have three or four tents lined up for just them.”
For those too impatient to wait in line or up for a challenge, the festival also has a kolache eating contest throughout the day. Some of the contests may feature battles between local teams — the city police versus the sheriff’s office or Caldwell football vs. Snook football, for example — but other rounds allow anyone at the festival to compete, according to Easter.
Some new features this year include a Battle of the Bands, Czech Hospoda Beer & Wine Tent, and Glamper/Vintage Trailer Show. Returning attractions include Adventureland, car show, quilt show (Friday and Saturday), eating contest, and antique machinery and tractor show. However, Easter and Hearne worked together to make sure the new and old attractions appeal to both returning and first-time visitors. While the festival itself is free, the beer and wine tent does come at an extra cost.
“You don’t have to pay to come to the square,” says Easter. “It’s free to come walk around; sit, listen, and dance to the polka music; the car show — go down and look at the cool cars; it’s all free.”
This year’s Kolache Festival is on Saturday, Sept. 8, starting at 9am. A pre-festival dinner takes place on Friday, Sept. 7, and $10 tickets are limited. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.BurlesonCountyTx.com/KolacheFestival.
