Annual Wilber Czech Festival kicks off

WILBER, Neb. (KLKN) – The Wilber Czech Festival started on Friday, celebrating 150 years of Czech heritage in Wilber.

The festival brings in thousands of people from all over to experience Czech culture.

There’s authentic Czech food and pastries, vendors and plenty of activities.

And it wouldn’t be Czech Days without folks wearing traditional attire.

The clothing is handmade at the Czech Gift Shop.

One of its main products: outfits for girls to take part in Czech dances.

“We make sure they can twirl so that their skirts fly out and they can really twirl when they’re dancing,” said Sharon Kastanek, treasurer of the gift shop.

“It just brings a smile to your face when you can see those little girls and those new outfits,” she said.

The festival also has special T-shirts made each year commemorating the event.

It’s a tradition that’s been going on for more than 20 years and recently was passed on to a family in Crete that runs a screen-printing business.

Sherry Heath, co-owner of Heath Sports, is of Czech descent and said being part of the event is special for her “on a number of levels.”

“It’s cool that people look for these shirts when they come to this festival,” she said.

The festival runs through Sunday.

A full schedule of events can be found here.