On the Town: Yukon prepares for 58th annual Oklahoma Czech Festival

Each year for nearly 60 years, Yukon has invited people from all over to celebrate the rich Czech heritage in Oklahoma at its annual Oklahoma Czech Festival.

The 58 ^th annual Czech Festival in Yukon will be Oct. 5 and include a parade, polka bands, Czech and Slovak folk dance and food including traditional Czech kolache and klobasa sausage. These special foods typically sell out before noon, according to information on the event website.

The kolaches may sell out fast, but they take weeks to prepare, handmade by the dozens in the Oklahoma Czech, Inc., building in downtown Yukon. Last Saturday, a friend of mine, Jennifer Wallis, and I unpacked our Czech heritage and drove to Yukon last Saturday to bake with the Czech Bakers. We realized recently that both of us have Czech grandmothers.

Janice Van Brunt has been involved in Yukon’s Czech Festival and the Oklahoma Czech organization since 1981 and led our group of bakers. Her handwritten recipe, which makes 35 dozen kolaches, is one of the recipes pinned to the wall for bakers to follow. Her mom was Czech (maiden name Jazek), and her parents helped start the Kolache Festival in Prague in Oklahoma in 1952, held each spring. In addition to baking, she has been involved in the Czech folk dancing, which she has done since she little girl in the 1950s.

“I stay involved because it is my heritage,” said Van Brunt, whose family also gets involved. “I love doing it. As you can see, we have such a camaraderie here with all the people.”

The morning I baked, Van Brunt had gotten up early to mix the dough in the 80-year-old Hobart industrial mixer to get it ready for volunteers. She then directed our Czech baking session making apricot, cherry and lemon-filled kolaches. We sprinkled a seasoned flour mixture on top and glazed them with butter when they came out of the oven. There was a relay to get the kolaches to a quick freeze, and then we packaged them for sale before sending them back to the freezer.

Kim Rex, president of Oklahoma Czechs has been among the bakers for a long time. Some of Kim Rex’s earliest memories are of her family’s involvement in Czech activities in Yukon; her father is a former Oklahoma Czechs president.

“I’m proud to I’m the first legacy president,” Rex said, referring to her dad, who baked bread for the festival for 25 years.

Some of her dad’s recipes are incorporated into the Czech Bakers, as are that of many others. Rex said that decades ago, when the bakers brought the baking process into a common kitchen, they had to hash out a common recipe from all the family ones.

Right now, Rex is working on the upcoming festival, which will include a beer “pivo” garden for the first time. After the festival, the Oklahoma Czechs, Inc., will start baking for the Czech Christmas market in Yukon in December to sell kolaches and traditional Czech breads like vanochka.

Read about the Oklahoma Czech Festival at czechfestivaloklahoma.com .

Have an idea, item or event for On the Town? Email lillie.beth@yahoo.com.

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