NOW until February 28, 2025

Participate in our Rhyme Competition

December 8, 2024

Hands-On Christmas Cookie Baking Workshops at Orinda Community Center

December 14, 2024

Holidays at Filoli in Woodside

To join us, you must secure your ticket; pre-reg tickets have expired.

February 1, 2025

Sokol SF Annual Meeting, location TBD

March 6, 2025

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

All event times listed are in Pacific Time

Hands-On Christmas Cookie Baking and Decorating Classes

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Two sessions offered @ 1:30pm & 3:00pm

Orinda Community Center

There will be two one-hour sessions:

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm This class is sold out

The first session is suitable for kids, but parents must be there with their children.

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The second session is mainly for adults.

Place:

Orinda Community Center

28 Orinda Way, Orinda CA

Please make sure you register for the time you want to attend.

• Class is suitable for children, but parents must be there with them.

• Please register every person who will be attending.

• If your plans change, please let us know; space is limited, so somebody else can go! sokolsfevents@gmail.com



We will work with traditional Czech Christmas cookies, like linecké cookies, gingerbread cookies, and vanilkové rohlíčky cookies.

Everyone will leave with baked goodies and in a festive mood! You will receive the recipes as well.

Wear comfortable clothing which you do not mind getting some flour, sugar, or frosting on :-)

Please plan to arrive 10 minutes before the beginning of class so we can start the class on time! Thank you.

Suggested donation is $10 per person.

CASH preferred. PayPal or Venmo will also be accepted.

NOTE: we will also be working with nuts.

1:30pm class is sold out

Holidays at Filoli House and Gardens

Saturday, December 14, 2024 @7 pm

86 Cañada Road, Woodside, CA

Thank you all who have already registered for this event, we purchased the discounted ticket for members of Sokol SF only!

If you HAVE NOT registered with us, you need to purchase your own ticket!

If you have not visited Filoli during the holidays, do not miss it!

Excerpt from Filoli: "'Tis the season to make special memories, bask in the vibrant landscape, and spend time together. Step into the magic of the House decked in holiday cheer and explore the winter Garden, where inspiration glows.



During the day, bask in the winter sunlight as it brings out the hues of splendid decor and enchanting Garden displays and sets the tone for the perfect family photo. Indulge in daytime delights with warm drinks by a firepit or stop for a hearty lunch at the Quail Café.

In the evening, enter a dazzling world of holiday cheer as immersive displays and historic, natural beauty bring magic to returning favorites and new experiences."

Rhyme Competition

Submit your rhyme by February 28, 2025

Ambroš Duo Violin and Piano Concert

Thursday evening, March 6, 2025

Piedmont Center for the Arts

801 Magnolia Ave. Piedmont, CA

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

Recap of Past Events

Sokol San Francisco Monthly Hikes

Briones Reservoir

Saturday November 2, 2024

Sokol SF Speaker Series

UNESCO Heritage Wooden Churches of Slovakia

November 3, 2024

Virtually on Zoom

Sokol SF would like to thank Renata Bricka for her presentation about the extraordinary UNESCO heritage wooden churches of Slovakia.

Listeners of the presentation learned about breathtakingly beautiful Protestant, Catholic, Greek Catholic and Orthodox Slovak wooden churches, some of which were built 5 centuries ago. Though once there were over 300 wooden churches in Slovakia, only 60 remain for us to admire today. If you're interested in learning more about these churches, please visit our Youtube channel to view a recording of this fascinating presentation, so that perhaps you, too, can visit some of the remaining churches next time you're in Slovakia!

Česká hymna slaví výročí 190 let!

Krásná a zpěvná melodie české národní hymny zazněla poprvé 21. prosince roku 1834 ve Stavovském divadle, které spíše hrávalo německy než česky. V ten den se však konalo české představení pojednávající o staropražské pouti a svátku ševců v pražských Nuslích. Během představení zazněla melodie Františka Škroupa a text veršů Josefa Kajetána Tyla. Interpretem byl operní pěvec Karel Strakatý, který se bravurně zhostil role slepého houslisty Mareše. Diváci byli z melodie a textu nadšení a vzdávali ovace opernímu pěvci za jeho vynikající výkon.

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

Orloj in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Ve městě Cedar Rapids v americkém státě Iowa stojí první orloj na severoamerickém kontinentu s pohyblivými figurami podobný tomu pražskému. Slavnostně jej spustili český a slovenský prezident Petr Pavel a Peter Pellegrini. Orloj zdobí vjezd do čtvrti s Národním českým a slovenským muzeem, které si připomnělo 50 let od svého vzniku.

Muzeum v Cedar Radpis již 50 let pečuje o tradice, kulturu a historii českých a slovenských emigrantů v USA. „Zachovávání naší kultury a tradic na území jiného státu v tak velkém měřítku je obdivuhodné a jedinečné. Děkuji za velmi krásný a intenzivní zážitek,“ napsal na sociálních sítích prezident Petr Pavel.