Family Activities
The 2024 Central States VHF Society Conference is pleased to offer the following family activities and tours during the event.
Thursday, July 25
Our family program begins Thursday evening with a pool party held at the hotel. A summer meal, a chance to chat, and cool off in the pool.
Friday, July 26
Our family members load onto an air-conditioned bus at 9:00 for a visit to the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library to see exhibits and enjoy a Czech Lunch at the museum. The museum exhibitions will include the Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Presented are 75 works including rare original lithographs and proofs, paintings, drawings, posters, books, and portfolios from the Dhawan Collection, one of the finest private collections of Mucha’s works in the U.S. Mucha is most often remembered for the prominent role he played in shaping the aesthetics of French Art Nouveau at the turn of the 20th century.
A Czech box lunch of croissant sandwich, a side, a kolache, and a beverage will be served. After lunch, our family members tour the Brucemore mansion.
Brucemore, a park-like, 26-acre estate in the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the site of a Queen Anne-style mansion, formal gardens, a children's garden, a night garden, a pond, an orchard, and woodland. Built between 1884 and 1886 by Caroline Sinclair, widow of pioneer industrialist T.M. Sinclair, Brucemore housed three prominent families who used the estate as a center for culture and the arts. Brucemore, whose name alludes to the Scottish moors of the second owner's ancestral home, is Iowa's only National Trust Historic Site. The mansion has three stories and contains twenty-one rooms. Distinctive features include a steeply gabled roof, five chimneys, and several turrets.
Saturday, July 27
Our family members load onto an air-conditioned bus at 9:00 for a visit to the Amana Colonies. A tour guide joins the group for a driving tour of the colonies with stops at the Communal Kitchen, Church, and Museum. A history of the area and lifestyle is presented. The tour guide can point out the shops to visit in the remote colonies if you can afford the time for a return visit before leaving the Cedar Rapids area.
Step into a world of authentic German ambiance that was created by our ancestors and preserved by us today. Experience the unique culture that has its roots in Germany and flourished in the USA during a communal era for over 90 years.
After the tour, our family members dine on their own at one of the Amana restaurants. Shopping in the Main Amana shops is available before the bus leaves to return to the hotel.
