Members of the Czech Royal Court have spread the word about their heritage at numerous appearances this year. The new Royal Court, sponsored by the Czech Heritage Foundation, was crowned in May during Houby Days in Czech Village. Members include: Czech Little Sisters and Little Brothers Ingrid and Lars Landa, son and daughter of Craig and Christine Landa; Danika Robe, daughter of John and Holly Robe; Alexander Sherman, son of Peter and Radka Sherman; Myah Morgan, daughter of J.C. Morgan and Tiffany Morgan; Natalie Hopkins, daughter of Emily Zimmerman and Seth Hopkins, and Mikahla Powers, the daughter of Crystal and Justin Powers.Davis Robe, son of John and Holly Robe, was named Czech Prince, and Isabel Sherman, daughter of Peter and Radka Sherman, was named Czech Princess. Allyanna Pokorny, daughter of Michael and Angel Pokorny, and Grace Sherman, daughter of Peter and Radka Sherman, were both named Mladší Princezna, meaning younger princess. The court has already made appearances at the Czech National Cemetery’s Memorial Day Service, the St. Ludmila’s Church Kolach Festival, at Czech School, where they talked about their kroje – folk costumes – and at the Freedom Festival Parade through New Bohemia and Czech Village.Members of last year’s Czech Royal Court who “graduated” during the Houby Days ceremony included Czech Prince and Princess Branden and Victoria Knight, the son and daughter of Tom and Karen Knight; Czech Prince Drake Hromidko, the son of Heidi Hromidko and Mike Ainesworth; Czech Princess Rachael Brandon, the daughter of Jeremy and Jennifer Wills and Jason and Andrea Brandon and Mladší Princ or “younger prince” Jonathan Carrick, the son of Laurie and David Carrick.Their appearances this spring included the Sokol Šibřinky, a Mardi Gras-style costume ball at St. Wenceslaus that featured the Czech Plus Band; the Czech School Chili Supper at St. Ludmila’s, an annual fundraiser for the Cedar Rapids Czech School; the St. Joseph’s Day Dance – Czech Heritage Foundation’s signature fundraiser at the Ponderosa Ballroom in Walford – and the Houby Days Parade.Miss Czech-Slovak Iowa Saddah Hadish, along with Czech Princess Victoria Knight and Mladší Princ Jonathan Carrick, were interviewed during the KZIA morning show on Z102.9 to discuss Czech traditions. (Hear the full interview at www.CzechHeritageFoundation.com) Czech Princess Rachael Brandon represented the Czech culture during a Diversity Night in Tama that also featured native Meskwaki and Hispanic cultures. Thanks go to Sykora Bakery for donating kolaches for both of those events, with food serving as another way to bring diverse cultures together.Saddah Hadish, along with Czech Little Sister Natalie Hopkins, met the public and dignitaries, including Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmoníček, at the opening reception for the “Guts & Glory” exhibit at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. Additionally, Jonathan Carrick spoke at the opening reception in his role as a student of Metro High School STEAM Academy, which designed, built and installed the replica train cars that are part of the exhibit.Czech Princes and Princesses are ages 12 to 16, while Czech Little Brothers and Little Sisters are ages 6 to 12. More information and applications for the 2019 Czech Royal Court can be found at: www.CzechHeritageFoundation.com.