CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — For years, Marj Kopecek Nejdl designed logos for the annual Houby Days festival, and with her passing earlier this year, organizers saw it fitting to dedicate the upcoming festival in her memory.
The 47th annual festival, set for May 17-18, 2025, along 16th Avenue SW in historic Czech Village, celebrates houby, the Czech word for mushrooms, with a special emphasis this year on Nejdl, a Master Czech Folk Artist who died March 10.
Eggs decorated by Master Czech Folk Artist Marj Nejdl are shown during the Czech School class in 2018. Nejdl taught the students how to design their own eggs. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
A two-day event is a departure from past years, when Houby Days was typically three days…