NOW until February 28, 2025

Participate in our Rhyme Competition

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Hike to Park Presidio

February 1, 2025

Sokol SF Annual Meeting @ Alhambra Irish House, Redwood City

March 6, 2025

Ambroš Duo, Violin and Piano Concert at the Piedmont Center for the Arts

All event times listed are in Pacific Time

Please note that the correct date for our hike is Sunday, January 12, 2025

Dear Sokols SF members and friends of Sokol SF!



The generosity of Sokol SF members of their time and talents throughout the year never ceases to amaze me. And in that vein, Sokol SF was touched during the Holidays to receive a generous donation of $500 by the Teyrovsky Family in order to provide crucial support to ensure that individuals who cannot afford membership fees will still have the opportunity to become members and take full advantage of the organization's activities. This contribution reflects the community spirit and commitment to Sokol SF values, making it possible for more people to benefit from our enriching program, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent anyone from being a part of Sokol SF.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of sponsored membership, please contact us.

We thank you all for your continued support - we truly wouldn't be the same without you!

Linda Janourova

President Sokol SF

Sokol San Francisco Monthly Hikes

Park Presidio, San Francisco

Sunday, January 12 @ 11 am

Lets start the year with a hike in Park Presidio in San Francisco!

Join us for about 3 mile hike loop with beautiful views of San Francisco Bay and the city. There are many places worth seeing like Presidio Officer's Club (free admission museum), Korean war memorial, Main Post and so much more!

We will decide on the exact itinerary when we meet in the morning.

There are restrooms and food trucks along the way which we can visit should the mood strike.

You can bring your dogs on the leash.

Rhyme Competition

Submit your rhyme by February 28, 2025

Members only

Annual Sokol SF Member Meeting

at Alhambra Irish House or online

Saturday, February 1, 2025 @ 12 - 2pm

Our Annual Sokol SF Member Meeting will take place

at Alhambra Irish House in Redwood City

We will try to stream the meeting via Zoom as well.

We will review the past year’s activities, discuss plans for this coming year, elicit input for what members would like to do and how they would like to get involved, review the financial standings & budget and then vote for the slate of officers.

Lunch will be provided by Sokol SF with a no-host bar

Please register if you are planning on attending the meeting in person 

so the restaurant can prepare for our event.

Registration closes on January 26, 2025

If you are planning on joining via Zoom, do not register!

The agenda and Zoom link will be sent to all members on Friday before the meeting, regardless if you will be attending in person or virtually.

We are looking forward to seeing your faces in person!



All members are invited to attend!

Sincerely,

Sokol SF Board of Directors

THIS EVENT IS FOR SOKOL SF MEMBERS ONLY

Register ONLY if attending in person



Zoom attendees DO NOT register

Ambroš Duo Violin and Piano Concert

Thursday evening, March 6, 2025

Piedmont Center for the Arts

801 Magnolia Ave. Piedmont, CA

Recap of Past Events

Hands-On Christmas Cookie

Baking and Decorating Classes

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Thank you all for coming and getting into the spirit of veselé vánoce! It was so lovely to see so many friendly faces in person in the kitchen and classroom at

Orinda's Community Center!

We enjoyed meeting you all and rolling and cutting and baking and decorating and eating all the traditional sweets!

Our attendees rolled and cut linzer cookies, decorated gingerbread, formed vanilla crescents and after baking covered them in powdered sugar, filled some cookies with jam and some with chocolate cream.

We are sending you the recipes for the cookies we worked on in the class and also a link to our Youtube channel Sokol SF Media where you can find recordings from our Christmas baking Zoom classes

Recording from 2021

Learn how to prepare vanilkové rohlíčky, vanilla crescents, iselské dortíčky and linecké cukroví, Linzer cookies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5dXDRkEnEM&t=62s

Recording from 2020

We will teach you how to make vánočka, Masaryk cookies and decorate Gingerbread cookies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnSBs_qmOt4&t=387s

Holidays at Filoli House and Gardens

Saturday, December 14, 2024

As December rolls in, Filoli Gardens transforms into a winter wonderland, with every room in the mansion and all the gardens adorned with Christmas trees, wreaths, and millions of twinkling lights, setting the perfect stage to embrace that magical "vánoční nálada."

It's a delightful experience to stroll through this festive spectacle, reconnecting with old friends and welcoming new faces into our vibrant community.

We hope each of you enjoyed a holiday season filled with warmth and joy, and are ready for 2025!

Thank you Suzanna for bringing it to our attention!

Marie Provazniková's memoirs

"To byl Sokol"

now available in English!

To byl Sokol (That was Sokol) is a historical memoir by the legendary Sokol Marie Provazníková, who documented the role the Sokol movement played in gymnastics, culture, and the democratic values of the Czech people from the first decade of the nineteenth century to 1948. Provazníková’s book was published only in Czech in 1988.

An English translation was made in 1991 by Martinet, Pokorny and Cahlander, Sokol members in Baltimore, but was not published.

A copy of the type-written translation of the book was given to the Sokol Museum and Library by Provazníková’s granddaughters and was edited.

The current book includes the

1) the English version of her book with editorial comments,

2) the history of her life in Bohemia, and

3) her life in America after her defection from the 1948 Olympics in London.

The significance of To byl Sokol is that it is a detailed account of the struggles of the Czech people during their lives under the Austrian and Austrian-Hungarian Empires, World War I, and then under oppression by the Nazis during World War II, and the Communist coup in 1948.

Provazníková, an official in the Czech Sokol organization and the International Gymnastics Federation, was personally involved in all of the historic events detailed in her book. The new information included in this publication completes her story and its significance.

Translated by Robert Tomanek, PhD, 2024

On the same topic - SVU ( Společnost pro vědy a umění) NY organized a Zoom conference, “Marie Provaznikova: A Woman to Remember,” in 2022. You can watch it on Youtube Marie Provazníková PART 1 and Marie Provazníková PART 2.  

Jan Bartoš to return to and perform in the USA.

Jan studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Professor Zenon Fishbein, and together they established in Europe the Prague Music Performance Festival.

To learn more about Jan Bartoš 

Jan Bartoš will be performing in California in the fall of 2025

so mark your calendars:

25 - 31 August 2025, Monday to Sunday       San Francisco International Piano Festival

     13 September 2025, Saturday           USA - LOS ANGELES LIVE – LA MUSICAL SALON 

Kurzy češtiny pro členy krajanské komunity konané v ČR

Czech Language Courses and Studies

in the Czech Republic

Thank you, Ann Marie, for writing about your experience at the Czech language program last summer!

You can read her story in our November newsletter.

All newsletters are archived https://www.sokolsf.org/newsletters

Renew Your Membership for 2025

or

Become a Member of Sokol SF

Dear Sokol Members

Thank you to so many of you who have already renewed!



Renew your Sokol San Francisco membership now.

2025 membership dues are $45, due by December 31, 2024.

Please note that our organization is run fully by volunteers

with their families, jobs and lives.

Make it easier for them and renew on time!

We now accept Paypal & Venmo in addition to a mailed check.

Please follow these steps to renew easily:

A) renew via mail

using the paper renewal form and a check made out to "Sokol SF."

Download, print, fill out the paper renewal form and mail form and check to:

Sokol SF, P.O. Box 5252, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

B) renew online via PayPal or Venmo

Go to your Paypal or Venmo account.

Send your payment recipient on Paypal: sokolsfpay@gmail.com

Send your payment recipient on Venmo: Sokol SF

Remember to include the full names of all members for whom you are sending payment in the message field. 

If your address, phone, and/or email changed, please include that information in the message as well.

Like last year, we would like to honor our unit's veteran members by providing complimentary membership to our unit to individuals ages 85+. 

These members are not just a crucial link to the past but serve as our current-day mentors and inspire us to continue to remember Sokol's credo and what continues to bring us together today, as it did when Sokol was first established. 

If you fall into this category, please send us an email or call Jara Dusatko to confirm that you would like to renew your membership, and we will take care of the rest.

Benefits of Membership include:

• Event Discounts
• Preferred seating at events
• Preregistration at popular events, e.g., our Christmas cookie-baking event and winery visits.
• Financial stipend to attend American &/or CZ Slets & Festivals
• Monthly newsletter
• Networking opportunities
• Access to educational & cultural programs
• Creating Czech connections
• Opportunities to practice Czech language skills
• Opportunity to earn a scholarship for the Czech School of California tuition
• Financial support toward entry fees to select events
• Lunch at our Annual Meeting
• ....and more

If you have membership questions, please email Jara Dusatko at sokolsf@gmail.com