Miss Czech-Slovak Illinois

05/02/2026

04/07/2026

Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik had a great time learning about creating folk art with ethnographer and folklore artist Miroslava Ferstlová. Thanks to T. G. Masaryk Czech School for holding their recent workshops!

Photos from Klara showing what she learned and some of her family Easter traditions too.

Follow Klara on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missczechslovakil?igsh=bTF5Z3E2bHB4M2lk

04/01/2026

A few more photos from the Easter Workshop at the UMS clubhouse United Moravian Societies. Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik was learning how to braid a traditional Easter pomlázka and had fun doing crafts with kids and meeting the Easter bunny too!

Easter pomlázka - where did it come from and how to knit it? | ČistéDřevo.cz https://share.google/JIrGeMP3zwRZo8CSh

03/30/2026

Getting ready for Easter! Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik helping with the Easter Workshop at United Moravian Societies this past weekend. 🐇🥚

03/30/2026

Follow along on Instagram for a behind the scenes look at our Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik's adventures!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWevRQJj1tO/?igsh=cmE3N3R0M2hheTln

03/25/2026

Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik went on a road trip to Iowa last weekend!

03/14/2026

02/16/2026

A special afternoon at the 9th Annual Children of the World event, for our Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik. She was cheering on our UMS Illinois Little Sister Klara Kloucek. Klara K. was performing with her dance group Radost, of the United Moravian Societies.

The event showcased children's dance groups representing Lithuania, Scotland, Czech Republic, Ireland and Slovakia. All of the groups did a great job sharing their cultures through song and dance, while dressed in beautiful costumes.

02/09/2026

On Saturday night, the Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara and her good friend Nelly attended the Maškarní bál, at the Czech Mission in Brookfield, IL. They dressed up as the iconic Pat a Mat characters (a Czechoslovak, stop motion silent animated series, created by Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek). They had a great time dancing the night away and running into many of their Czech friends. Klara says she had a blast and definitely plans on going back next year!

02/08/2026

Last week our Miss Czech Slovak Illinois Queen Klara Sebestik attended a cultural events series at the T. G. Masaryk Czech School with a lecture by Czech diplomat and author Jaroslav Olša, Jr. on the history of Czechoslovak consulates in the United States between 1920–1950.

She said of the experience, "February 4th is the Day of Czechs Abroad and on Feb. 5th I learned how hundreds of thousands of Czechs built communities across America and how consulates helped them stay connected to their roots through war, migration, and political change, even if at times it was hard and some consulates closed down. From Chicago to Omaha, it was never just paperwork, it was about people preserving language, culture, and identity. I'm feeling deeply grateful for the generations that made space for us abroad.”

Thank you to the T. G. Masaryk Czech School and the Czech Consulate office in Chicago for giving our younger generations the opportunities to learn about their heritage!