WILBER – A Saline County community is celebrating this weekend. The 63^rd annual Wilber National Czech Festival got underway Friday night, with vendors along the town’s Main Street, and a community awards ceremony.

Each year, the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber honor individuals for their dedication to the celebration, who volunteer to organize the various activities and provide support for the ethnic festival. Over the decades, more than 500 people have been honored for their roles in keeping the Czech heritage celebration going.

Friday evening’s opening events included a children’s parade along Main Street…preceded by a performance by the Wilber Alumni Czech dancers. The celebration features big parades both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, along with Czech cultural displays, authentic ethnic food, Czech dancers and polka bands.

Sunday’s two p-m parade will be televised live, on N-C-N TV. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Together, We Can.”

Nine contestants will compete for the crown of National Miss Czech-Slovak U-S-A Queen…with the winner named Sunday night near the close of the celebration.