CALDWELL, Texas (KRHD) — The Burleson County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 39th annual Kolache Festival Saturday to celebrate and spread Czech culture and history.
- The festival will feature baking competitions, a kolache eating contest, and a parade inspired by the popular Czech pastry
- The Chamber has been hosting the celebration for 39 years
- The goal is to spread Czech culture and history, especially to younger generations
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Kolaches —
"That's all we do is kolaches," said Baker and Owner of Jake's Bakery, Christine Campbell.
It's pretty much all Christine Campbell has baked since the age of 10.
"I first started making kolaches with my grandma and grandpa at their restaurant, Jake's Restaurant," she said.
Now, she owns Jake's Bakery —
"That was my grandpa's name," she says.
— where she's spent eight years perfecting the treat.
"We like to do this once a month to keep that tradition going," Campbell said.
But the pastry's origins in the community span beyond her years.
"It's a Czech pastry that's filled with a sweet filling," Campbell said.
— since the 1880s.
"The Czech immigrants originally came in through Galveston and kind of worked their way up to this area," she said.
Baking them for family gatherings and dinners.
"Texas is kind of where a lot of those folks settled and brought that part of their culture with them and started making a little taste of home and baking those with their families," Campbell said.
Eventually making them the center of Burleson County's Annual Kolache Festival.
"It is very important — it's definitely what's bringing everybody together here," Mott said.
The goal is to share Czech history and culture.
"The actual festival is about is the revitalization of the Czech culture here in Burleson County," Mott said.
More importantly to younger generations.
"We live in such a wide variety of backgrounds, which is so fun to get to pass that on to my daughter and get to tell how people worked so hard to get here and to get through the hard times they had," Campbell said.
