Deutschesfest closes out its 48th year

STAFF REPORTS

The 48th annual Deutschesfest has come and gone. By early Monday afternoon, you would not know that a festival had taken place over the weekend. The Odessa public works crew, employees of the Odessa Trading Company and volunteers from various businesses and civic organizations were johnny-on-the-spot to return the town to its hard-working normal routine.

Not all of the results are in, but it would appear that it was another successful year overall. Grannie BarBar told The Record that it was her best year to date.

Results we have gathered by press time are provided below. If we haven't talked to you yet, let The Record know how your event did.

Kid Zone

After reporting the late-breaking news last week that there would be no Kid Zone this year, things changed the very next day and a Kid Zone actually happened after all. Inflatable balls and a bounce house and other items were available for kids at Reiman Park Saturday afternoon. There was no laser tag, but perhaps that will return next year.

Chalk drawing contest

The chalk drawing contest sponsored by Wheatland Bank also took place on the bank's property. Rectangles outlined with colored tape marked the areas in which kids could put their artistic talents to work.

In the youngest age category for kids aged two to four, Jamieson Striffler was the winner, while his half-sister Isabella Barber took first place in the five-to-six year old category. Sawyer Walter was first among the seven-to-nine-year olds, and Max Peterson took first place in the 10 to 12 age group.

Peterson is the son of Bryce and Rochelle Peterson. Sawyer Walter's parents are Colley and HaLee Walter. Isabella and Jamieson are the children of Thad and Amy Striffler. All are from Odessa.

Trike races

In the various age groups of the tricycle races, first-place awards went to Harley Ryan, Simon King and two repeat winners from last year, Taryen Carroll and Aiden Schmierer.

Kids in Biergarten

This year's experiment of allowing kids to join their families in the Biergarten during the daytime hours appeared to have been a success. A member of the Oom Pas and Mas told The Record that the Saturday afternoon crowd in the Biergarten while the band was performing on stage was the largest in recent memory.

Walking tours

The self-guided walking tours of the Pleasant Hill neighborhood and of an immigrant's arrival by train in a new rural town was compiled by new Odessa resident Kathy Ashe. The remaining pamphlets that describe these walking tours are available at no cost at The Odessa Record office. The sponsoring Old Town Hall Rejuvenation Society will still accept donations to its fund for continued renovation of the Old Town Hall. Donations may be mailed to OTHRS, c/o Faye King, 16790 King Ranch Rd., Odessa WA 99159.

Outdoor stage

The outdoor stage at the 2018 Deutschesfest was a success. Fest-goers enjoyed two and a half days filled with music. There was a wide variety of music offered this year. Genres from Christian to pirate-themed were represented on the stage.

Thad Striffler, winner of the 2017 Deutschesfest talent show, sang pop/folk music with a little added humor. He even threw in a little Britney Spears.

Pastor Jon Hayashi performed several times, changing things up a little with upbeat Christian music on his keyboard and guitar.

Evan Gonzales turned up the heat with his guitar and focused on rock music. He is a local high school student who was in the talent show last year and did so well he was asked to perform on stage this year.

Another high school talent show contestant from 2017 who was asked to perform on the outdoor stage was Julie Lovvik. Julie has a style all her own and, despite her nerves, performed right on up there with the rest of the outdoor stage performers.

The Seven C's out of Moses Lake performed pirate-themed music. Their set was filled with lively music that had the audience laughing and smiling.

Also from Moses Lake, was Nick Garcia, performing several times on the outdoor stage throughout the weekend. He is, as he says, a campfire singer and songwriter. His indie/folk style was filled with lots of passion that the audience enjoyed.

Plans are already in the works for the outdoor stage next year, with a total of nine performers wanting to come take part in this fantastic festival.

OTHRS

The Old Town Hall Rejuvenation Society hosted its second annual cash Bingo Event on Saturday of Fest in the Old Town Hall dining room. In the four hours of the event, 27 games were played at $1 per card per game. With a 70 percent payout for each game, winners took home the day's average of $24.50. Fun was had by all who dropped in to play.

Bingo caller Paul Scheller let the players know that the OTHRS group is celebrating the successful installation this summer of a $25,000 new roof on the Old Town Hall, thanks to four major donors: Odessa High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America, Odessa Lions Club, Odessa Historical Society and those who supported the indoor yard sales held by OTHRS over the last few years.

This year, the Bingo Event raised $300 for continued improvements to the Old Town Hall and to increase the use and enjoyment of the building during the Odessa Deutschesfest.

Sunday Bike Show

A total of nine motorcycles and two adult bicycles were entered in the Sunday bike show. There were no entries for kids bikes even though the event was free for them.

In the motorcycle section, the winners were:

1st place: Chris Nobody Passmore from Spokane on a 2018 CVO Road Glide

2nd place: J.J. Kasprak from Spokane on a 2017 Road Glide

3rd place: Danny Tayler of Medical Lake on a 2017 Road Special

In the bicycle category, both bikes were entered by James Poe of Odessa with his Huffy Cruiser and his Schwinn Pacific. So he won both first and second place.

The raffle prize this year was a fold-up bicycle that Nate Lathrop's father, Col. Jim Lathrop, had ridden around Viet Nam. This special bike was won by Mark H. Roetcisoender of Odessa, who also entered his BMW R1200 GS in the bike show.

At the close of the bike show there was a special performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" by Shannel McDowell of Odessa in her first live performance. A short musical set was also played by local musician and guitarist Richard Molsbee.

Quilt raffle

In a last-minute addition to the schedule, Chiefs Bar & Grill will hold a raffle drawing for a small quilt made of the cloth bags that surround Crown Royal products. The dark-purple bags for whiskey and bright green bags for apple liqueur were collected by local resident Chuck Van Hevel, sewn into a lovely quilt by Odessa Quilt Club member Joyce McClanahan and will be raffled off in a drawing held at Chiefs on this coming Sunday at 11 a.m. The proceeds from this raffle will go to support the Odessa Food Bank. Tickets are $2 each or three for $5 and are available at Chiefs.