Fest update

The Odessa Chamber of Commerce met Tuesday at noon at Any Occasion Banquet Hall.

Amy and Kevin Schaefer of the float committee reported that Miss Odessa Danielle Tebow and Princess Maleah Davison would be attending the Omak Stampede this coming weekend. They also got the okay to sell soft pretzels with cheese in the “Bretzeln” booth. It was agreed by consensus that they could set up the booth anywhere they liked as long as they had access to electrical power and plenty of foot traffic to make their fund-raising successful. Besides the two girls, former royalty were also being approached to volunteer at the booth, along with any other volunteers who might come forward.

There was also discussion of putting the newly refreshed crest on the back door of the float trailer, along with the name Deutschesfest and the words “Always the third full weekend in September.” It was also suggested that “Odessa” could be written in large letters on the front end of the trailer to further identify and promote the town. Norm Ott agreed to work with Amy Schaefer on getting additional ads placed on the trailer by businesses that had not yet requested the ad space.

The marketing committee reported that posters and “rack cards” have arrived and are available to be taken to other towns when locals have opportunities to visit elsewhere. Contact Lise Ott at Experience Quilts! or Terrie Schmidt-Crosby at The Odessa Record to arrange for pickup.

Gavin Wagner of Harrington (brother to Travis Wagner of Odessa) has volunteered to build and paint some new figures for the four main entrances to the town and to repaint the “Willkommen” signs that accompany the boy and girl figures.

The kitchen committee reported another problem that occurred sometime over the summer with people leaving the community center and its kitchen in a shambles after whatever event was held there. In addition to cleanliness issues, the large garage-style door between the front and rear sections of the community center was damaged somehow and would no longer stay in the “up” position. It has undergone repairs and is ready for Fest.

Laura Estes and Kelly Korpinen have agreed to keep a closer watch on rentals of the center and kitchen and check

to see that clean-up jobs are done to their satisfaction. After some discussion, it was agreed that the Chamber would supply heavy-duty black garbage bags for the clean-up in an easy-to-find location.

Cement is being poured this week in anticipation of a future need to expand the size of the kitchen.

The Chamber also agreed to pay to pump out and clean the RV dump station located near the Odessa Cemetery, regardless of how the ownership issue of the station and its septic system turns out. It was unusable in its current state and needed to be taken care of.

Biergarten chair Tami Smith reported that the tokens to be used for purchasing beer in the Biergarten this year have arrived. The six varieties of beer to be sold have also been ordered. A group of volunteers is building three token booths inside the Biergarten. Those interested in helping may join the group from about 10 a.m. to approximately 3 p.m. every Sunday between now and Fest. Saturday work days will be added as soon as harvest is wrapped up in the area.

Visitors from a “Renaissance fair” group that contacted the Lincoln County EDC’s Margie Hall about a location for it 2018 event is planning to send representatives to Odessa the Wednesday before and the weekend of Deutschesfest to see what the town has to offer as a potential site for their fair. They normally draw crowds in the neighborhood of 1,000 people and hold their event in October.