Kolaches? Czech!
Beginning in the 1880s, Czechs settled throughout Burleson County in large numbers. In 1984, descendents of those settlers interested in preserving their heritage gathered for a kolache bake-off, competing with their best recipes for the pastry made from sweet yeast dough and a fruit or cheese filling. The contest, held in the Central Texas town of Caldwell, grew into a full-blown festival, and in 1989, the state Legislature dubbed Caldwell the “Kolache Capital of Texas,” cementing the town’s pastry pride.
This year’s 36th annual Kolache Festival, held in downtown Caldwell on Sept. 11, features live polka music, the Kolache Krunch 5K, a quilt show, hundreds of arts and crafts vendors, and more than 40 food vendors. Three downtown restaurants serve authentic Czech dishes, and bakeries crank out countless kolaches. “We sell hundreds and hundreds of dozens of kolaches,” festival director Janice Easter says.
Those wanting their fill of kolaches can compete in the kolache-eating contest, but the main event is still the kolache baking contest, now called the State of Texas Kolache Bake Show.
—Amanda Ogle
Kolache Festival
Sept. 11
100 W. Buck St., Caldwell
BIG BEND COUNTRY
MARFA
Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love
Sept. 22-26
Convene at El Cosmico
