Prague Kolache Festival

Prague Kolache Festival

First Saturday in May

The Prague Kolache Festival is held every year on the first Saturday in May in Prague, Okla. The event celebrates the rich Czech heritage of the city's founding families, who settled in the area around the turn of the last century. The event is named after a Czech pastry that consists of a sweet roll with a fruit center. The first Kolache Festival took place in 1951, as a dress rehearsal for a celebration of the town's 50th birthday in 1952. The popular event carried on annually through 1955, when a 10-year lapse occurred. It has now been held consistently since 1965.
The festival draws as many as 30,000 people to a town of just 2,500 residents. Organizers estimate that 50,000 kolaches are consumed each year. A contest for the best homemade kolache, bread, and wine is a highlight of the festival. It also features an arts-and-crafts show, amusement-park-style carnival, and parade showcasing antique tractors and colorful Czech folk clothing. A variety of free entertainment, ethnic food and drink, and Czech dancing and costume competitions round out the day. Topping it off is the crowning of the Kolache Festival "royalty." By custom, the newly crowned queen opens the evening's popular polka street dance, which carries on until 10:00 that night.

CONTACTS:
Prague Kolache Festival
405-567-4866
www.praguekolachefestival.com/index.htm
Prague Chamber of Commerce
1023 Jim Thorpe Blvd.
P.O. Box 111
Prague, OK 74864
405-567-2616
www.praguechamber.org/index.htm
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Celebration days: May 7, 2011; May 5, 2012; May 4, 2013; May 3, 2014; May 2, 2015