Courier Staff Writer

WATERLOO -- Young men and women in traditional Bosnian dance costumes mingled among the guests on the upper level of the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

Some of the dancers -- those who are members of K.U.D. Kolo -- were well-known in the crowd. Many had seen them perform before at other local cultural events.

But some of the dancers were touching American soil for the first time. Dancers with Tono Hrovat had traveled from Bosnia and Herzegovina to partake in the first Waterloo Bosnian Festival.

"They are the originals," said Zulfeta Rizvic, an event organizer and Kolo coach. "They are very good and high quality dancers. We wanted people to see them perform and to share our new home with them."

Rizvic said she had wanted to organize this kind of festival since Waterloo hosted the Eighth Annual Krajiski Teferic Bosnian Celebration in 2005. The weekend-long event drew more than 4,000 Bosnians from across the country.

Kenan Aldzic, a 19-year-old Kolo dancer, first met the Tono Hrovat dancers on a trip to Bosnia last summer. He hopes their trip here will serve two purposes: to show people here more about his culture and to give them a better appreciation for his new home.

"I want them to go back and be satisfied with our hospitality and realize that we have made a great home here," he said.

Though most in the audience were very familiar with the traditional Bosnian dances, having hailed from the area themselves, a few, like Alan and Margaret Jessen, were hoping to learn something new.

"We have friends who are Bosnian and thought this would be a great way to get better acquainted with their culture," Alan Jessen said.

The festival continues today with a soccer tournament beginning at 9 a.m. at Sloane Wallace Stadium. A team from Velika Kladusa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is scheduled to compete.

An awards and closing ceremony will follow at 8 p.m. at the Grand Hotel. Cost is $15 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.

Contact Emily Christensen

at (319) 291-1570 or

emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.