Christmas Fest kicks off season with gifts, food, music

The annual Christmas Fest put on by the Odessa Junior Livestock 4-H Club and the many volunteers who helped out last Wednesday, December 3, have once again put on a well-attended local event to kick off the holiday shopping season. Fest coordinator Faye King said the 46 slots available in the community center were filled by 33 vendors (several with double slots) and the Tree of Sharing.

Many local small and/or home-based businesses participated in addition to the many vendors who come from elsewhere. Vendors included: Julie Rae Williams (Tastefully Simple packaged mixes), Vicky Iverson (Miche purses), Lyndsay Reyes (Thirty-One products), Marvel Nichols, the Relay for Life group, Miranda Finkbeiner, Sheryl Johns (Premier Designs Jewelry), Odessa Red Hat Society, Audrey Beck (sewn items), Colleen Lobe (At Home America), Crab Creek Coffee Haus, Laurel Foquette, Lauretta Baergen (New Hope Messengers), Melanie Kennedy, Grannie BarBar/Jerry’s Flys & Ties, Washington Federal Bank, Margaret Ferguson, Odessa Quilt Club, Mike Kuest (Silhouettes by Request), Barbara Greenwalt (Avon), Lori Valdez (Scentsy), Old Town Hall Rejuvenation Society, Leona Kramer, Odessa EMTs, Don Deycous, Loreen Robertson (Pampered Chef), Odessa Trading Company, Karen Brooks, Ellen Cook, Odessa Jr. Livestock 4-H Club, Lois Drennan, Judy Campbell, Carol VanBuskirk, Clara Steendahl.

Each vendor who participated was asked to provide an item to be used as a door prize at the event. Names were drawn throughout the day, as visitors and townspeople stopped by to do some shopping, have some lunch (hamburgers offered by the 4-H club parents) or dessert (homemade pies offered by the Old Town Hall Rejuvenation Society) or listen to live music on the indoor stage provided by all local volunteers.

A total of 256 people threw their names into the box to vie for the 35 door prizes offered. “We always have great participation from our vendors for the door prizes. Generosity always rules the day,” said King.

The lucky winners of door prizes were Matt Wilson, Eileen Tanke, Marge Evans, Wilma Schmidt, Lois Renken, Lori Valdez, Anna Hayashi, M. Zaragoza, Jon Hayashi, Bryan Holjeson, Kathy Holjeson, June Dawson, Alice Melcher, Barbara Greenwalt, Sheryl Johns, Deanna Lobe, Wayne Frederick, Delores Graedel, Emily Nixon, Victoria Peterson, Michelle Melgren, Norma Zaragoza, Judy Starkel, Lise Ott, Camille Eldridge, Jeff Melcher, Lynn Allen, Janette Samuel, Danielle Scrupps, Claire Squire, Sarah Stahl, Tianii Costlow, Linda Kuest and Kerry Scheller.

Only 32 people entered the business raffle after collecting stamps/signatures from five different Odessa businesses. There were four winners: Ryan Frick, Camille Eldridge, Effie Joe and Linda Kuch. Each winner received $50 in “Chamber Bucks” to be redeemed at Odessa businesses.

At the end of the day, as everyone was packing up their wares, Odessa’s Audrey Beck offered one last door prize. The winner had their pick of any afghan remaining on the rack. The name of the winner was unknown to the event coordinators who nevertheless acknowledged Beck’s special generosity. Beck also told The Record that she had had the best Christmas Fest ever. Between an event the previous weekend and the Christmas Fest, she had just about sold all of her inventory.

Members of Cub Scout Pack #784 took up their usual post at the outdoor stage. They sold all of their trees by the end of the evening.

Schmidt Insurance Services handled the Tree of Sharing again this year. The tree was set up in the community center and a total of 78 tags graced its branches. Lois Hubbard of Schmidt Insurance said the Odessa EMTs used money from their own raffle to take 23 of those tags from the tree and buy gifts for some folks who might not have much of a Christmas otherwise. The remaining tags were taken by visitors and members of the community. The tree now resides at the offices of Schmidt Insurance, and the presents will be placed under the tree as the donors make and deliver their purchases.