| SVU |
CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES |
2003 SVU Conference, Cedar
Rapids, IA
Word from SVU President
Welcome to our conference in Iowa. This is the
fourth SVU Conference devoted to the subject of Czechs and Slovak Americans and the
preservation of their cultural heritage.
We have purposely selected Cedar Rapids for the Conference site because the State of Iowa
more than any other State of the Union had reminded the early settlers from the Czechlands
and Slovakia of their home country. It is of note that the Matice Vyssiho Vzdelani which
initiated the first scholarship program for the Czech American students and which is still
active today - had its beginnings in Cedar Rapids, as did Charles Jonas' periodical Pokrok
and Jan Barta Letovsky's Slovan Americky. Not too far from here is an old settlement
Spillville where the famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak spent one summer and composed
some of his important compositions.
The conference is being held on the beautiful campus of Coe College, under the patronage
of Presidents of the Czech and Slovak Republic, Vaclav Klaus and Rudolf Schuster,
respectively, in cooperation with the Nebraska Chapter, the National Czech & Slovak
Museum & Library, the Federation of Czech Groups in Cedar Rapids and the Cedar Rapids
Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
The main academic events, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, comprise a variety of
interesting lectures, discussion panels and symposia relating to the general Conference
theme, "The Czech and Slovak Presence in North America: A Retrospective Look and
Future Perspectives".The announced speakers represent practically every important
state of the Union with a relatively large Czech or Slovak populations, as well as Canada,
including the prominent community leaders. There are also speakers from the Czech and
Slovak Republics, and their governments' representatives.
The Conference participants will , of course, have the opportunity to attend various
cultural and social programs scheduled during the three-day conference, as well as events
scheduled at the annual Freedom Festival in Cedar Rapids during the evenings and the
weekend.
There will be a reception on Wednesday evening at the National Czech & Slovak Museum
& Library , followed by a special bag-pipe performance on "ceske dudy" by
Michael Cwach. For you culinary delights there will be a chuck wagon barbecue dinner on
Thursday evening, followed by dancing to the tunes of the Czech Plus Band. The traditional
SVU banquet is scheduled for Friday evening .
Both events will be held on the Coe College campus.
The visitors should to take advantage of the two trips planned for Saturday, June 28, and
Sunday, June 29. On Saturday, there will be an all day tour to an old Czech settlement of
Spillville, Protivin and Ft. Atkinson, including the seeing of the Bily Brothers Clock
Museum, the Antonin Dvorak Museum and the St. Wenceslaus Church where Dvorak performed in
the summer of 1893. The second
tour will take place on Sunday to the Czech village and the nearby communities of Ely and
Solon.
Our organizers, especially the Nebraska SVU Chapter, under the leadership of Kacenka
Olslzly, have outdone themselves to make the conference informative and interesting, as
well as enjoyable and exciting. I want to express to them on behalf of the SVU Executive
Board our appreciation and gratitude.
I hope that every conference participant will leave the Conference filled with the same
pride, enthusiasm and excitement that all of us felt during its planning.
Mila Rechcigl
SVU President
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