Texans are some of the proudest folks you’ll ever meet. Even if that pride borders on hubris at times, Texans know theirs is a noble history, one that’s inspired a distinctive and remarkable culture, a grand melting pot of cultures.
Today, these cultures are reflected in the food, music and celebrations we enjoy. Here’s a sampling of Texas’ numerous expressions of cultural diversity.
CZECH, PLEASE The National Polka Festival in Ennis has been celebrating Czech heritage for more than 50 years.
The National Polka Festival in Ennis
For Texans of Czech descent, the most popular form of cultural expression via music has historically been the polka — an upbeat, accordion-driven genre commonly associated with grand ballroom-style dances and energetic, half-step time signatures. Though the roots of polka are grounded in traditional Czech folk music, the genre has found popularity in Texas, with polka’s stylistic elements being adapted in accordion-heavy Tex-Mex conjunto and two-stepping Western swing.
Czech polka in Texas can be traced to the 1850s, when immigrants began settling predominantly into the state’s central and northern territories. Immigrants seeking to maintain their heritage would form Texas-based chapters of such prolific Czech cultural organizations as Sokol and the KJT (translated to Czech Catholic Union). These orga- nizations constructed fraternity halls, where im- migrants would host extravagant celebrations of culture and heritage, featuring traditional dances set to polka.
Today, the state’s Czech communities continue to host extravagant polka celebrations, just as their ancestors did over 100 years ago.
Perhaps the most prominent of these celebra- tions is the National Polka Festival — an annual, three-day celebration of Czech culture held just south of Dallas in the town of Ennis. Since the festivities began 51 years ago, countless local, international and even Grammy-nominated polka acts have made their way to Ennis to fill its historic Czech fraternity halls with their bright, brassy sounds.
Kolaches in West
Of all the traditional dishes brought to Texas by Czech immigrants in the mid 1800s, none have become a staple of the Texas diet quite like the kolache, a fluffy wedding pastry filled with a sweet center (typically fruit or jam).Though kolaches are commonly found in bakeries throughout the state, only one city has served kolaches of such quality and authenticity as to earn the Texas Legislature’s distinction of “Home of the Official Kolache”: West, Texas.
It’s no surprise West has become famous for its traditional kolaches. Czech heritage runs deep in West’s history. In the 1880s, the newly constructed Missouri-Texas-Kansas Railroad brought prosperity to the territory, attracting droves of Czech immigrants.By 1920,Czech had become the city’s dominant culture, earning West the title of Texas’“Czech Heritage Capital.”To hungry travelers, West is best known as the main stop on the “Kolache Trail,” a road-trip route created by kolache connoisseurs, featuring stops at only the finest Czech Bakeries.
Perhaps the most prominent kolache stop in West is Czech Stop, a combination deli/bakery/gas station. Second in popularity only to Czech Stop is the Village Bakery, which has been serving traditional, Moravian Czech-style kolaches since the ’50s, making it one of the state’s oldest traditional Czech bakeries. Last, if you’re seeking authentic, home-made kolaches, you owe it to yourself to stop by West-fest, West’s aptly named celebration of Czech culture.
Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie
For the many ethnic groups who’ve made Texas their adopted home, a sense of belonging is perhaps the greatest comfort there is. For the Asian population of Grand Prairie, that comfort is found in Asia Times Square, the Dallas metroplex’s Asian business hub. Since opening on the site of a former Grand Prairie Wal-Mart in 2007, Asia Times Square has become an integral part of Texas’ Asian community.
Though home to numerous grocery stores, restaurants, retail shops, radio stations and even law firms, Asia Times Square is more than a collection of Asian-centric businesses. Among the DFW area’s Asian-American population (which has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2000), the center has become a place of cultural celebration, where Asian-Americans of all backgrounds, including Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Laotian and Taiwanese, can gather to celebrate their heritages. “The mission statement for Asia Times Square has always been ‘preserving tradition, promoting cultures,’” says Asia Times Square CEO Matthew Loh. “That’s why we wanted to start hosting events the Asian community would be proud of.”
Of all the notable cultural celebrations thrown by Asia Times Square, the most prominent is the annual Lunar New Year’s festival. Taking place over the course of two weekends in February, the festival’s attractions include multi-cultural concerts, Chinese lion dances, martial-arts exhibitions, fashion shows, carnival games, firecrackers and, naturally, foods from around the globe.
Texas’ Official St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Shamrock
Texans looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day are spoiled for choice. From Fort Worth’s Cowtown Goes Green celebration to Dublin’s event to San Antonio dyeing the city’s river green, it seems communities across the state can’t help but embrace the St. Paddy’s Day spirit. But only one city’s celebration has earned the honor of “Official St. Patrick’s Day Celebration for the State of Texas,” and that’s in the appropriately named Shamrock.
Named to honor the Irish heritage of her early settlers, Shamrock is the only city in the country to boast not one but two pieces of the Blarney Stone, supposedly chipped off the original Blarney Stone monument in Ireland. While one piece of the stone resides in Shamrock’s Pioneer West museum, the other is on display in downtown Shamrock’s Blarney Stone Park. As is customary in Ireland, Shamrock’s guests are allowed to kiss the park’s Blarney Stone, which is said to bestow eloquence and persuasiveness upon anybody lucky enough to smooch its rough exterior.
Shamrock’s first annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, in 1938, was a simple, one-day event. Over the next few decades, however, the event’s popularity would grow, quickly earning it the reputation as one of the state’s best. Today, Shamrock’s celebration spans all three days of St. Patrick’s Day weekend, attracting crowds so large that most other St. Paddy’s Day celebrations seem quaint by comparison. “Our celebration draws anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 people annually,” says Shamrock city manager David Rushing. “For a town the size of 2,000, that’s a pretty awesome figure.”
The North Texas Irish Festival
March brings with it numerous Irish-themed celebrations across the country, though too many of these supposedly “Irish” celebrations take Celtic culture to mean consuming alcohol while donning green attire. And while culturally appropriative celebrations are unavoidable, Texas’ historically pronounced Irish population has ensured that a variety of authentic celebrations of Celtic culture are available. The most popular of these celebrations — the North Texas Irish Festival — is held annually Dallas Fair Park over the first weekend in March. Kicking off in 1983, the NTIF has become the largest Irish heritage celebration of its kind in the Southwest.
Headlining the festival’s 13 stages are a variety of top-tier Irish musicians, whose performances run the gamut from large, jaunty ensembles to quiet, reflective solo acts — allowing festival goers to experience traditional Celtic music in its various forms.Though music is the fest’s main draw, an array of Irish-themed activities are available. Between musical sets, guests can enjoy tales of Celtic lore, expertly woven by spirited Irish storytellers. Festival goers looking for more hands-on experiences will find demonstrations of traditional Irish dancing, blacksmith- ing and even sheep herding.
Finding heritage in New Braunfels
It’s common knowledge among Texans that if you want a traditional German experience, you need look no further than New Braunfels. Perhaps the only city in Texas to be founded by royalty, New Braunfels was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, who, along with a group of brave German settlers, made the treacherous journey to the promised land. Though the journey was tough, the settlers came prepared to make Texas their home, bringing with them a strong sense of pride for their German heritage. Today, the settlers’ German culture is still ingrained in New Braunfels’ many restaurants, cultural museums and, of course, festivals.
Perhaps the strongest example of New Braunfels’ heritage is Wurstfest — a 10-day Ok- toberfest celebration of the city’s oldest culinary tradition: genuine German sausage. “New Braunfels has a robust sausage-making industry. It’s an industry that was, and continues to be, a huge part of our heritage,” explains Jody Young, vice president of New Braunfels’ Chamber of Commerce. “Our founding fathers brought these recipes from Germany which, even then, were hundreds of years old.” In addition to a wide selection of German wurst, attendees can enjoy traditional German dances, polka music and healthy amounts of beer.
Though Wurstfest may attract big crowds, the city’s culinary tradition can be found year-round in historic establishments like the Phoenix Saloon and Krause’s Cafe, both of which have remained in operation since the 19th century and continue to serve the same German fare enjoyed by New Braunfels’ first settlers.
To complete the German experience, visitors can make their way to the Sophienburg Archives & Museum of History. There, exhibits feature countless artifacts, photographs, maps and documents guiding visitors through the German people’s journey into Central Texas and beyond.
German Christmas in Fredericksburg
Annual celebrations of German Christmas— or Weihnachten, as it’s known in their native Deutschland — were, and continue to be, an im- portant pillar of the German experience in Texas. Since the raising of the state’s first Christmas tree by German settlers shortly after their arrival on the Gulf Coast, celebrations of German Christmas have become a cherished Texas tradition.
Today, celebrations of German Christmas can be found in Fredericksburg, a Hill Country city famous for its rich German heritage and culture. Fredericksburg’s Weihnachten season is marked by the lighting of the Weihnachtspyramide (Christmas pyramid) — a 26-foot wooden carousel-like pyramid decorated with hand-carved Nativity-themed figurines that resides in the town’s Marktplatz (Market Square). Fredericksburg’s Weihnachtspyramide was constructed in Germany and is the only one of its kind in the United States.
Once the season is in full swing, Fredericksburg’s visitors can partake in a variety of German Christmas celebrations, such as the town’s annual Tannenbaum Ball, a black-tie fundraising gala featuring elegant meals and music, named for the age-old German Christmas song “O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree).”
And while Christmas Day is a traditionally restful day, both in Germany and in Fredericksburg, Dec. 26 brings with it Zweite-Weihnachten, the annual German tradition of “Second Christmas.” Sponsored by the Fredericksburg German Club, Zweite-Weihnachten’s attendees enjoy traditional German folk music while consuming traditional Second Christmas fare such as Stollen (fruit cake) and Glühwein (mulled wine). As Second Christmas draws to a close, revelers gather to sing traditional carols, in both German and English.
