Upcoming events still need able volunteers

Continued from last week

To continue our story on events that put Odessa on the map for visitors, we provide here some additional information from the February 14 meeting of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce.

A letter will be arriving soon from the Chamber treasurer reminding businesses and individuals to pay their dues for 2017.

Laura Estes, representing the Odessa Quilt Club, advised members that the club’s annual Quilt til you Wilt event will be held March 20. This will be the 22nd year of the event. Expected are about 100 visitors all over the northwest. Estes is currently assembling registration packets for those who will attend. Any Odessa business or civic group that wants to include coupons, notices of special offers, free gifts or anything to publicize upcoming events is welcome to include their items in the packet. Call Estes at 982-2908 for more information.

The event is held now in the Odessa Community Center after having outgrown its former location. New and improved lighting in the community center has made the venue a much better location for these types of events. Those coming to work on their quilting projects are advised to bring extension cords, adapters, power strips and table-top lights, in addition to their sewing machines and irons. Plastic table covers are also helpful, as the tables sometimes have had prior rough treatment.

Demonstrations, raffles and other contests, exchanges of fabrics and other items will taken place throughout the day. Rolls and coffee will be provided for breakfast, with a potluck lunch served out of the kitchen at noon and a leftover potluck dinner served at 6 p.m.

Chamber president Zach Schafer, like his father before him, has long been in charge of finding vendors for the Desert 100 race site in early April. He said he has always tried to give local businesses and civic groups the first opportunity to set up at the site to sell their food or other goods. For the past couple of years, the task has been somewhat more difficult, and he well understands that the site conditions are a challenge. He is giving locals a chance to sign up by the end of February, and if there are not enough vendors willing to go to the site, he will open it up after that to out-of-town vendors, as he has for the past year or two.

Businesses are also encouraged to advertise in the Desert 100 race program that will be published soon. Visit the StumpJumpers website for more information. The motorcycle club includes a very family-oriented group of folks out to have fun ride. They have been very supportive of the Odessa community and its businesses and civic groups, donating substantial sum to various organizations and patronizing local businesses when possible.

Chamber members are still working to compile the suggestions for revitalizing the annual Deutschesfest that were gathered at a community meeting a few weeks ago. We will have those results for our readers by next week, we hope. Also coming up will be further information on who the current committee chairs are and where people are still needed to fill in. Now is the perfect time to get started and make Fest 2017 the best it can be.