Traditional music performance at Bohemian Beer Hall & Garden. Photo: BCBSA
Jan. 8, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Astoria’s Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden will come alive with Czech and Slovak culture this Saturday during the second annual Czech & Slovak Heritage Festival.
The event, organized by the Bohemian Citizens’ Benevolent Society of Astoria (BCBSA), will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at 29-19 24th Ave.
The festival will celebrate the rich traditions of Czechia and Slovakia, featuring traditional music, dance performances, and a curated display of cultural artifacts. Attendees can immerse themselves in the vibrant heritage of these nations while enjoying the historic setting of the beer hall, which has been a cornerstone of Astoria’s cultural landscape for over a century.
A highlight of the day will be a marionette performance by internationally acclaimed Czech puppeteer, storyteller, and author Vít Hořej. Scheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., the performance pays homage to Czechia’s deep-rooted connection to marionette artistry, which has long been a celebrated part of the region’s cultural identity.
Photo: BCBSA
The festival will also feature a Limboracik performance from 1:30 p.m. until 2 p.m., allowing audience members to immerse themselves in a traditional folk dance performance performed by students from BCBSA’s language center and covering both Czech and Slovak styles.
It also features Pajtasi from 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., providing a glimpse of traditional Czech and Slovak music through the ages.
BCBSA President Sharka Waldhof said traditional artifacts on display during Saturday’s festival include glassware celebrating Czechia’s tradition of glassmaking, unique folk costumes from both countries, and artifacts celebrating Czechia and Slovakia’s long history of kings and emperors.
A BCBSA member shows off traditional outfits. Photo: BCBSA
The Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden will also feature a special menu offering traditional Czech and Slovak foods for the occasion, as well as the “world-famous” pilsner beer and Czech bar beers.
BCBSA first held its winter Heritage Festival in November 2023 and plans to add a traditional Pork Fest for next year’s event, Waldhof said. Pork Fest, which typically takes place during the winter months in Czechia, is a traditional Czech celebration of pork and community.
The society already holds two long-running festivals celebrating Czech and Slovak culture, including a Czech and Slovak Festival on Memorial Day Weekend and a wine festival in August.
The society, founded in 1892, is a non-profit organization that encourages and supports Czech and Slovak culture by providing a social home for Czech and Slovak people. It also blends cultures from the two nations with American traditions and culture, allowing members to integrate better into American society.
BCBSA’s language center allows children to learn the language, songs, dance and history of the Czech and Slovak lands, while the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden showcases foods and beverages from the two countries as well as American favorites.
Waldhof said the language center performs an important function by keeping Czech and Slovak traditions alive in young children who would not be exposed to such cultures in American schools.
“What we look to do is to preserve the history, knowledge, culture, heritage and customs,” Waldhof said. “We preserve that educating children in the language, songs and dance (of the two countries), things that they won’t be exposed to here in American schools.
“They may get some of it at home, but this way, they also are together with other children, and they get to learn about some of the people that have historic significance.”
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