Although both countries are now independent of each other, the Czechoslovakian Club in Brisbane continues to provide cultural environment for people of both countries. Providing home made meals every Friday night and monthly Sunday lunch, the club supports Czech & Slovak schools as well as hosts a group of Czech & Slovak parents with little children: Klokanek.
All this is made possible by dedicated community volunteers. The Sunday lunch in June includes a ceremony to welcome children born in the last two years into the community. Most recently a traditional Mayfest was organised by the Club and the Czech School – now celebrating its fifth year of existence! The original Mayfest plan was to have outdoor stalls with the produce and craft work made by our country people and then a bonfire in the evening. The planned activities included rising of the maypole with a bottle of Slivovic attached to it. Many people wanted to camp overnight with the maypole taken down the next day with the Slivovic auctioned to the highest bidder. However, with the rainy weather this was not possible and all the activities, bar the bonfire, of course, were held indoors.
The first performance held in the Club in two years due to Covid-19, the May festivities were greatly enhanced by a performance of a folk band Kukabura from Sydney. We can’t wait for Kukabura to visit again and bring their wonderful atmosphere back to town! Our own local country band also joined in, not to mention some young and some not-so-young dancers! The event also saw the group welcome both the Czech Ambassador from Canberra as well as the Czech & Slovak Honorary Consuls in Queensland.