Colors of kroj winners

According to the Czech Center, kroj (plural: kroje) designs and colors vary widely across the Czech regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, with each having its own distinguishing characteristics.

They vary around the Montgomery area too, according to artists who colored their interpretations of the Czech and Slovak traditional costume in the Montgomery Messenger’s “Color the Kroj Contest.”

The artists (or colorists) pulled out the full-page black and white drawing from the Messenger’s 87th Kolacky Days Festival & Event Guide and colored their version of a kroj. Here are the winners and their Monty Buck Prizes:

Age 6 and under: Sylvie Prochaska, 5 years old, $20
Age 7-17: Logan Kaderlik, 11 years old, $40
Adult: Shirley A. Trcka, 82 years old, $40

The 2021 First Princess Ellaina Novak judged the contest on Monday, Aug. 2. When examining the entries, she based her decisions on tradition and little things that caught her eye.

Read more in the print edition.