Community Foodies
Free Meals for Summer
The Cedar Rapids Schools' Summer Meals program is back this year and is open to all children 18 and younger. There is no enrollment and all meals are free, but they must be eaten on-site. The meals are available during service hours only and children must be present. The hours for meals are:
Monday to Friday
Breakfast 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Lunch 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
*No service on June 19th or July 4th
Photo Courtesy of St. Ludmila's Catholic Church
St. Ludmila's, 211 21st Ave SW, Cedar Rapids
Kolaches: A Little Piece of Czech Heritage in Every Bite
St. Lumila's annual Kolache Festival will begin June 20, 6 to 9 am with a ‘kolache drive-thru’ at the church, 211 21st Ave. SW. The drive-thru will continue Saturday 6 to 9 am, but kolaches can also be purchased inside the church during the evening festivities, as well.
Flavors include cherry, strawberry, apricot, apple, poppyseed, prune, rhubarb, and assorted. Kolaches are $9 for a half-dozen and $18 for a dozen.
festival will begin Friday evening at 5 pm with games and fun for the whole family. However, because of the heat warning on Saturday, the festival will move inside to the church hall, where it is much cooler.
The first Czech immigrants made their way from Czechoslovakia to Cedar Rapids in the mid-1800’s and settled along the Cedar River. With so many immigrants moving into the area during this time to work at the meat-packing plant, it’s no surprise that Cedar Rapids is known as the community with the biggest Czech population of anywhere in the US.
Kosek Bakery opened in 1903 along the Cedar River, in what is now Czech Village. Kosek's morphed in Sykora Bakery in 1927, and the family-run bakery sold delicious kolaches and other pastries until 1994. The bakery has changed hands a few times, with the doors finally closing in 2023.
Little Bohemia:
Famous Downtown Fixture
Little Bohemia, located at 1317 3rd St SE, and is the oldest known bar in Cedar Rapids. The bar was purchased by the Melsha family, in 1978, who brought it back from the brink after the Flood of 2008 damaged most of the downtown area. The bar is not only famous for being the longest bar in Cedar Rapids, artist Marvin Cone also painted the bar in 1941.
