Clarkson Czech Festival...The State Pageant...

I couldn't believe how fast this weekend came up. Of course we didn't have everything done but we had to get it together! Mom was up until 4:30am on Saturday finishing everything. I was really tired when I got up in the morning because I thought I would keep my older brothers dog overnight so he wouldn't have to stay at home alone when he went to Omaha. BIG MISTAKE! He started barking which made my dogs bark which made him bark which....ok you get the idea right? After about 25 mins I called my dad and told him I couldn't take it anymore. He came and picked Titus up and I tried again to go to sleep. Apparently my dogs were still upset so it took about an hour for them to settle so I could get some rest. It was around 12:30 at this point and I had tried really hard to get to bed early because I usually don't get to bed till 1am or later. I got up around 6am to get the last few things thrown together and put my hair up in curlers. Did I mention I don't like getting up in the morning? Well...I don't! :) We were behind getting outta the house. (For those of you who know me and my mom...I know you're shocked right?! HAHAHAHAHA!) Of course once we got of to a slow start we had to get gas, got stopped by a train, and ran into about 20 miles of construction where we had to stop and wait for about 15 mins. Well we made it there to drop my things off at the Novak's house where all of the girls stay in Clarkson. I decided not to go in kroj because we don't have to be dressed until an hour or so after we got there. The cooler the better! Carrie Brown (the 2008 NE Queen) and me were the only ones who showed up in regular clothes. After dropping all of our stuff off we headed to the main stage to practice our talent with the sound system etc. We drew numbers for not only the order for the pageant but also who would sit at each table at the luncheon with the judges later in the day. I drew number 4 for the pageant order...right in the middle. I was happy with this as I hate going too close to the end. I drew table 1 for our luncheon and was paired with Annie Brabec from Clarkson. I wasn't sure how my talent would go on stage but it went pretty well. We got everything in order for talent and then they asked if we wanted to practice modeling our kroj. I thought about going back to the Novak's house to change but decided I would be fine to practice in jeans. It was kinda funny but I felt ok after running through it once other than holding back tears. I knew it would be hard when I put my Grandpa into my kroj description but it REALLY hit me that morning. After running through everything we headed back and I got dressed. Next we went to New Zion Presbyterian Church for lunch. They had pork, sauerkraut, dumplings, corn, rolls, applesauce, and strudel. One heck of a meal! I couldn't eat all of my pork and Carrie wanted more pork so we traded the rest of our meals and I had some of her sauerkraut. Between the 2 of us...we were proud because we ate 2 meals. :) Missy tried sauerkraut AND dumplings for the first time ever. A couple of the moms (including mine) had our leftovers. I told them it was silly for them to buy a whole meal when we had about 3 whole meals left over between the 7 of us. After lunch was our first official introduction of the weekend at the stage in the park. We took a few pictures on our way over there and sang both of the national anthems. I tried to use my Czech introduction...and messed it up. I just made a joke about not using it much and moved on. We went back to the Novak's house to freshen up a bit before personal interviews. I have to admit this was the part of the pageant I get most nervous about. It's the only part that really has the element of surprise. The rest we can prepare for ahead of time for the most part. We sat in one room with Shandra while we waited to go into interviews. They put the room with all of us right next to the interview room and we were being SOOOO loud! I think there was so much nervous energy in the room we were releasing it by joking and laughing and being loud. Hmmm some of the topics were cheese, boys, going down stairs in laundry baskets, and a little about the interviews and us being nervous. When Laura went in (she was right before me)I know I got really quiet because I started thinking about what I was going to say etc. I walked in and shook hands with each of the judges and made a joke about "the hot seat." They had 5 questions total and of course I can't remember all of them now. LOL! Lets see... Why do you want to be the NE Czech-Slovak Queen? Tell us about your kroj. What is your favorite part about being Czech? Why did your family come to America? I know I'm missing one but I can't for the life of me think of the last one. I usually stress the most about this one and start thinking about what I should have said as soon as I walk out of the room but I was actually very confident in how it went so that felt really good. We talked a little about what we said in the room with Carrie. After everyone was done we went to the luncheon with the judges. Donna and Sandy went to check the weather as there was storms coming and they had to make a decision about where the pageant would be held by 4:30. We had a light dinner and each of the judges sat at our table for about 10 mins to get to know us a bit better and for us to get to know them. After we got to spend some time with each of the judges the pageant committee came back and let us know that they had decided to move the pageant to the school to be sure we didn't have to fight the weather. I thought this was great but I'll tell you a little more about it later. We went back to the Novak's one last time before the pageant and grabbed everything we needed. Then it was up to the school for the rest of the evening. When we got there we realized...it wasn't air conditioned. It started out warm but after everyone came up there it started getting warmer...and warmer...and warmer. Oh and just when we thought it wouldn't get any warmer...IT GOT WARMER! I made fans for my friends and family in the heart shape with paint sticks at the end. They had my picture on one side and "Stefanie Vocasek 'Fan Club'" on the other side. Well since it was so hot everyone wanted one...so some of my friends/family didn't get them. I totally forgot to even get a picture with everyone who came and them with their fans! Dang it! Oh well...guess we have another year for that! :) First off was the Oratory competition where we spoke on stage in front of everyone. We went through my 3 topics pretty quickly and I still had a minute left so I took the time to elaborate on my 3rd topic. Again I walked off stage pretty happy with how it went. The next category was the Kroj Modeling. I had a really hard time in practice when Grandpa was brought up so I was really nervous about this. As expected...it went really well till they brought up my uncle and my grandpa. I was able to hold back the tears until I got off stage. Overall I felt ok about this category but not great as I didn't think that my simple red, black, and white kroj would take me all the way...but the modeling went well. I did start bawling back stage thinking about grandpa after I was done. Last was talent...which I was very nervous about. I haven't played my accordion in front of people much so I had no idea what to expect. I also hadn't practiced my talent with all of my props yet. Well it was now or never. My voice was a bit shaky due to nerves but it went ok...remembered the words...hung all the kroj...and got done with that a bit early. Then it was time to play my accordion....the moment of truth. I was having a hard time smiling while playing when I practiced but I smiled...I played...and it was over! I DID IT! :) (Too bad I'm never playing accordion again until my good friend Brad learns to polka dance!) I walked off stage feeling pretty good again. We listened to Carrie Browns farewell speech and Sandy Ptak spoke about her year as Miss Czech-Slovak US. Then....it was the moment of truth. We all went on stage and they started awards. First was Personal Interview....I was really excited when my name was called! Next was Oratory....my name again...woah! Then it was Kroj...WHAT!? MY NAME AGAIN?! Now I was definitely not expecting that one. Next was Talent....Missy Vavra for her clogging. She did great! Then to Miss Congeniality...Missy Vavra again! Now it was really time...although if I really thought about it I guess I should have known....I was terrified. 1st runner up goes to....Emmy Beacom. Then of course they announced "And Our New 2009 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen Is....." there was a what seemed like never ending pause as he walked and stood between me and Missy....."Stefanie Vocasek." I don't think I took a breath for about a minute after he said my name. Was this REALLY happening...was one of the biggest dreams I've had since I was little REALLY COMING TRUE!?! Was I really going to Wilber next year?! Oh....my....goodness.....WOW! Tears kept bubbling up but I did my best to keep from crying. I think I was on stage forever taking pictures. I held it together until mom came on stage and all she had to do was hug me and whisper in my ear "You did it Doll!" I started BAWLING! After stopping the river of tears we took some family pictures. Man was I excited to get off that stage...I think it was 20 degrees cooler out in the hallway. I talked to some friends who drove all the way from Lincoln to be there for me and gave lots of hugs. I couldn't believe how many people were there to support me! I can't imagine what it will be like in Wilber! We headed back downtown to the beer garden to meet up with everyone else. Dad hugged me when we got there and said "Grandpa is so proud of you." Of course on came another waterfall! I immediately hugged my Grandma and Grandpa Bowen and told them how amazing it was to have them there and how I can't imagine if something would have happened to one of them and they weren't there either. It's been a scary year with BOTH of them. I danced a bit and spent some time with everyone who was there. I talked with a few people who I've known since my first year competing in 2004 and faster than a blink it was time to head back to the Novak's house for curfew...even though it should have been changed to 12:30 since that was what was announced at the pageant. HAHA! We tried! Mom helped me get out of my kroj and get it hung up. My stomach was killing me because of all of the stress and excitement from the day. I took a shower and tried to go to bed. Problem was...Mom said she would call when she got to her motel and Shestak's said to be careful because there were tons of deer on the road an mom was super tired from being up so late. I hadn't heard from her and now she wasn't answering. I sent Dad a text and about 10 mins later she called and he sent a text back saying that she was ok. I tried to settle down but it was still hard as I was trying to process what had happened.

Now as I said before...I don't like mornings...but I woke up at 7am and couldn't get back to sleep. I was thinking about everything all over again! I dozed off a few more times and then got up to get dressed in kroj and start the day over again! We got dressed and ready and went to the Polka Mass at the Catholic Church. We all stood outside and greeted everyone as they walked in then at the end of the service they introduced all of us. We shook everyone's hand as they walked out and talked to them a bit. It was good to meet some more of the wonderful people from Clarkson. After church we got another wonderful Czech meal (only this time I asked for less meat and extra sauerkraut and dumplings.) YUMMY! All of the other girls gave me their candy apples too! They had an accordion jam at the school where we ate and mom talked to a few of the guys playing about possibly selling their accordions some day!! :-D There are some pictures in my album of the ones we looked at. Next we went to the main stage for some pictures now that we weren't sweaty and gross from the pageant then we took some on the stairs of the Presbyterian church in hopes that if these are used for press releases that we may get published more. I had a few pictures taken at the rock wall with my new crown and sash for the NE Czechs website then we went to the park stage for introductions again. This time they gave us each gifts a BEAUTIFUL piece of painted Bohemian glass and a gas card to help cover some of the costs of traveling to the pageant. Next the gave us each our cash awards for the categories we won in the pageant. We introduced ourselves and I thanked Clarkson so much for their hospitality. I was asked to perform my talent and instead of doing my talent without my props I had Shandra Korbelik come up and play accordion with me. I messed up several times but it was not too shabby for it being the first time we've played together. After this we took a few pictures with Sandy and Shayla in front of the pretty rock wall and then headed up to the Nursing Home. We got there a bit early and there were a few new accordion players performing so when Shandra got there I got my accordion and tried to play with them. We did a few more introductions and headed out of there as they had other performances coming and we were running behind. They got to hear me play at least with the group that was there. We had some free time after this introduction. I went to the Opera House to hear the band play and spent some time with Carrie, Shandra, Sandy, and the Miller's. Blair (Shayla's younger sister) has become my little lady after riding through the parade in Milligan with me showed up and made friends with another future Czech Queen I had met earlier. :) After hanging out there for a while I went back to Novak's to grab a few things before the parade. I was asked to go talk to a 95 year old woman who was in town so I stopped by and took a few pictures with her and her cousin before heading back downtown. Several of the girls said they were doing the kolace eating contest and without knowing what I was getting into I agreed! Well...it wasn't the traditional eat one as fast as you can and whistle...it was eat 3 with no hands as fast as you can. LOL! I'm sure there are some lovely pictures but it was fun as it was Emmy, Carrie, Me, and Sandy all up there in a row. We didn't have much time after that so we walked down to the parade. My car was covered in signs because it's so small anyways and there was a sign for each of my awards but it was neat to have all of that represented for those who didn't get to go to the parade especially since it was moved. The Wilber crew tried to take me out with candy before we even took off! LOL! After the parade I talked to Sandy and the Miller Crew before they headed out of town and then went back to Novak's one last time until next year to change and pack up my things. I can't believe how fast the weekend went!

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of you who came to Clarkson to support me...it truly kept me going. Thanks to all of you who have been there in my journeys since 2004 and those of you who will be there for me in the future. I could go on for days with names but then you'll never read my blog again! Much love to all and you've got a lot more reading to do now! :-D See you all in Wilber next August!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 NEBRASKA CZECH-SLOVAK QUEEN!!!!!!!!

PS...I'm moving my blog to reflect my new title. Be sure to check out my new blog at: http://2009nebraskaczechslovakqueen.blogspot.com

Celebrate Lincoln

I don't get many opportunities to go to events around Lincoln so I was excited to get to visit Celebrate Lincoln before the big day came and it was time to head to Clarkson. I was planning on going downtown around 11am to eat lunch but it was raining on and off all day so I didn't get to head down there until around 5:30pm. I participated in the parade of nations where everyone dressed in the costumes from their country and carried in the flag from that country. Unfortunately I didn't know for sure if I was going to be able to make it so I didn't email confirming that I was coming so there wasn't a Czech flag. It was still neat to walk through the whole celebration. I stayed until around 8pm and decided I should head home...I still had a TON to do before tomorrow!! I got to meet Mayor Chris Beutler and his family and had a few pictures with them. A lot of people asked to take their picture with me. It was great to also see some of the UNL dance group I danced with at the Lincoln Festival. Better go and get some things done!

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!!!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen

Queens...Queens...and More Queens! :) Past, Present, and Future!

Monday night I got together with Valerie Smith (the current MO Czech-Slovak Queen)and Natasha Vavra (previously Florien, a past NE Czech-Slovak Queen and 2nd runner up at the national pageant.) They came to dinner with me and each brought a list of questions. We just practiced a bit and had some dinner. It was great to catch up with them and some great practice. Thanks to my private interview pageant coaches! :)

Sandy Ptak (Miss Czech-Slovak US) has made several trips to NE since her crowning in August. She has gotten very close to her little sister from the national pageant has come to spend time with her and her family. Whenever she is in town to visit she attents as many events as she can. Friend, NE presented her a key to the city this week as she calls this town just one more home (beyond her home in Alaska and her school home.) It was great to see the city honor her in this way. I wasn't sure that I would be able to make it to the ceremony as I had to work all day but they let me off early to head down there. We listened to the mayor present her the key to the city and she sang the song she sang in the national pageant for us "I Drove All Night" by Celine Dion in Czech. Then we had cookies and snacks. Shandra Korbelik and Erin Spicka came so it was fun talking to some past queens. They introduced me after her presentation and I invited everyone to Clarkson for the pageant. Laura made it a few mins after the ceremony because they are completely re-doing the float for Wilber and have to get it done for this weekend. EEK! Well better go back to work...I have LOTS to do before this weekend! It's time to practice my talent with all of my props...the stage hands are going to hate me.....

IT'S COMING TOO FAST...ONLY 3 DAYS!!!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen

Milligan June Jubilee

Well I officially have a kroj sunburn...yes...it is QUITE lovely if I do say so myself! :) LOL! Sunday was the June Jubilee parade in Milligan, NE. It was really fun. Laura (the 2009 Wilber Czech Queen) stayed at my house on Saturday. We had the intention of practicing for the pageant but didn't end up doing a whole lot of that. Oh well...it was good to have a girls night and not think too much about it. We got up that morning and helped each other get ready for the day in kroj. Good practice for the pageant as our "assistants" (AKA Moms) won't be there to help. (HEHE! We love our Czech Queen Momma's as much as we may give them a hard time we know we couldn't do it without them!) We had the Rezabek family reunion that day so we stopped by all dressed in kroj. Everyone was so proud to see 2 queens in the family. We didn't have much time to spend with everyone before we had to head on to Milligan. It was sunny but had a nice breeze so it didn't feel too hot. We were about to go through the parade and Sandy Ptak (the current Miss Czech-Slovak US) and her "Little Sister" Shayla Miller were right behind me. Shayla's little sister Blair was going to ride through with her grandpa in the front seat. She was so beautifully dressed in kroj and even had a tiara on so I asked if she would be my subsitute princess for the day. I don't think she could have smiled any bigger when I asked. I think she said yes before I could even get the question out. We didn't tell her parents so we could surprise her when we got to her in the parade. They were so excited to see her in the car with me. She did an awesome job! She kept pointing out when she saw people and asking if we should wave at them yet. :) After the parade we went to Michl station and took a few pictures. (Michl was my Grandma Blanche's maiden name. Her brothers Albert and Herman owned the station originally.) While dad was loading the car back into the trailer I walked with all the girls back to the parade route to try to watch the end of the parade. It was over by the time we got there so we went downtown for a bit and grabbed some snacks and headed to the park to talk to people and listen to the Milligan Brass Band. They had us on stage and introduced us and had us tell a little about ourselves. Sandy was HILLARIOUS telling stories about how her family ended up in Alaska. She told everyone they rode over on a polar bear and still have him...his name was Max. LOL! Then she told the real story about her parents escaping with some fake paperwork and coming to the first state they could in 1981. They came to Alaska in JANUARY...brrrrr! After all of that it was time to head home for the day. Another great day to be a Czech Queen! :) Everyone in Milligan was wonderful.

ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT NOW!!!!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen

Less Talk More Polka!

I couldn't think of a better title because their band name is just so clever! :) Last night I went to Omaha to hear Less Talk More Polka play at the Bohemian Cafe. I heard about this band for the first time a few months ago when my new roommate moved in. She had a friend named Molly and this friend of hers was in a polka band. I thought it was so cool to hear of someone younger playing in a polka band. Well as time went on my mom told me about this polka band that they were going to try to get to play at the Lincoln Czech Festival. I met the group's leader at the Czech Language Foundation and a few weeks later went to hear them play. They do such a great job and I love seeing a younger generation get into this as this is one of the many Czech traditions I see slowly fading away. They played at the Lincoln Festival and as expected did an AWESOME job. I've kept my ears open about upcoming shows and was super excited to hear they were gonna play at Bohemian Cafe in Omaha...I've never been there! I've only been to the Bohemian Cafe in Iowa. What a great way to listen to some great music and enjoy the best food around...Czech Food! YUMMY! I had a great time listening to them and even got an autographed copy of their new CD (which I recommend to all of you if you don't have it yet!) You can look at more info about the band and I'm sure if you contact them you can order their CD too!! Just Click Here to Visit Their Site My mom and I sat with Brad and his friend Carl along with his son, mother, and grandmother. Brad had fun picking on me throughout the night. I told him we were gonna fight when we got to the parking lot. HAHA! :) Then I made him take some pictures...which he quite obviously LOVES! The night was too short but I need my beauty rest these days while preparing for the pageant. A week from today I'll be packing and getting ready to head to Clarkson in the morning. CRAZY! Now I'm trying to decide if I'm going to drive to Milligan after work to play in the accordion jam with Shandra. Hmmm....decisions decisions.... Laura is going to come spend the night tomorrow night so we can practice for the pageant. It should be good practice but also a fun girls night! Well I better go now before you all stop reading! :)

I would like to make a quick mention of a Czech man who will be missed by many. Math Sladky passed away this week. I had the honor of meeting him a few times and even got to sing with him once. I know as I said that he will be missed by many but if I can help it...his music will live on for many generations to come! His family and close friends are in my thoughts and prayers.

8 DAYS TILL CLARKSON!!!!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen

A Fun Filled Weekend! THE PAGEANT IS COMING TOO QUICKLY!!!

Well another week down and that means another week closer to the pageant...EEK!!!! My weekend started with the South Central Czech Festival. We headed down to Hastings to participate and I had a BLAST! I had some wonderful Czech food and then it was time to introduce all of the queens. The other girls volunteered me to be first so I went for it. All of the other girls introduced themselves and then it was time for the re-crowning of the South Central Czech Queen as Emily is running for a 2nd year. I got to help with the crowning and the crown wouldn't fit her head! Thank goodness I wear about 100 clips in my hair when I put it up...they came in handy. I started taking clips out of my hair and putting them in hers to get it to stay. The other girls put on her sash and gave her some of the gifts and I gave her the flowers. After the coronation we took pictures with all of the beautiful royalty. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with all of the girls. It really started to hit me that there is only a few weeks until the state pageant! These girls are such great girls and we are gonna have A BLAST in Clarkson! I also enjoy running into the Little Sister to the Miss Czech-Slovak US queen, Shayla Miller. She does a great job now and I can't wait to see her in a few years when she's in my shoes. :-D Right as I was about to leave I got asked to play the...well I have no idea what is was! LOL It was a tambourine type thing that looked like a puppet! The Kramer Sisters had me come up and play with them. Then we paraded around the whole festival while playing. It was a ton of fun but we had to get out of there because it was also my cousin Shane's graduation so we had to get back to Lincoln.

Sunday was the Valparaiso parade. I started my day having to work but got off early to run home and get dressed in my new kroj. Yes...I got to wear my new one for the first time this weekend! YAY! After I got ready we were off. I wanted to try to make it a bit early to play in the accordion jam with my accordion teacher, Brad Husak. I walked in and purposely left my accordion in the car...well that failed quickly. HAHA! BUSTED! He asked where my accordion was and I told him and mom went out to get it. Well now that I had agreed to play I tried to sneak in and play in the back...well nobody was having any of that...no way. They wanted me front and center. They pulled up a chair and Brad moved his chair down to join me. AHHHHHHHH! I was really scared but this was a lot easier to play than it was in Lincoln...not only did I have more experience but I also could hear myself play a lot better. I SURVIVED! :) After I played about 4 songs with everyone we had to head to the parade lineup. I got kind of nervous because it was about 15 mins till the parade started and they still hadn't gotten me a car yet. Brad and I were joking that we were going to walk through. I had asked Brad a few weeks before if he would be willing to go through the parade with me and play his accordion. It was so great and I think everyone really enjoyed it. Before the parade started he was playing and I was singing and everyone was clapping along as we drove through. After the parade we had a great dinner at the legion and it was time to head home. It was a great day as all of my days as queen are! :)

Only 13 days till Clarkson!!! The countdown begins!!

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen

Revisiting the Past...Speaking at Roper Elementary...My Elementary School!!!

Well I've been looking forward to this visit for a few weeks now. :) I got to go back and speak at my old elementary school. It was pretty crazy to see all of the teachers I had back then and see how little everything is. HEHE! I spoke to all of the 4th graders and left lots of time for questions. They ranged from "What is your favorite part of your heritage?" to "What high school did you go to?" I played my accordion and they wanted to see me dance so since my mom was so good at saying I should do it...I had her come right on up and dance with me. :) After I spoke to the the group we took a few pictures and I stopped a few other places before heading out. I had to go see the principal. Yes...I got sent to the principal's office....not a place I used to going. HAHA! After we stopped there I went back to visit my old music teacher. It was so great to see her as she held an important role in me being so involved in music throughout my life. She is retiring after this year so if I wouln't have gone to see her who knows when I might have seen her again! Well I guess I'll be writing again soon.

Na Shledanou,
Stefanie Vocasek
2009-10 Lincoln Czech-Slovak Queen