Last weekend Dave and I drove the hour and a half to Caldwell, Texas, for their annual "Kolache Festival." Now... if you are from Caldwell, you pronounce them, not ko-la-chees... but rather, drop the "chees," and pronounce them ko-laches, with the accent on the "ko." Sounded Texan to me, rather than Czech. Maybe it is Tex-Czech!
That is exactly what the festival represented. A blend of Czech heritage with Texan culture.
Like this cute little Texas gal, "Miss Kolache Festival," wearing her Czech outfit.
And the "good-old Texas boys," playing their oom-pa-pa music.
And the ga-zillion trays of scrumptious, "best you ever ate" kolaches, with Texas bakeries vying for the "Best of Show."
The contest for eating the most kolaches was hilarious. The past record, with a team of 3 eaters, is 1 1/2 minutes, with the team consuming 12 kolaches each. AMAZING! This teenager led his team to victory. Note how he dipped his kolache in water to make it go down easier!
There was a petting zoo...horsie rides... bungee rides... and even a train for the children to enjoy.
My husband reveled in the antique tractor show....
AND... the antique car show.
There were streets and streets of arts and craft booths (that's where I spent my time), tempting food booths and lemonade stands, and lots of Tex-Czech demonstrations... like the sauerkraut booth, where we sampled homemade sauerkraut... with jalapenos!
What a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. We came away with a greater appreciation for the Czech heritage in our great state! "Tex-Czech." Try to say that quickly, 3 times in a row!
