Odessa Deutsches Fest, Sept 17-19

Join us for 3 days of fun and entertainment with German delicacies in Odessa, WA (70 miles SE of Spokane). Everything actually starts on Pre-Fest Thursday, when they open the Biergarten at 7 p.m. Grazing the food chalets will get you German sausage, cabbage rolls, kloes, kraut ranza, apple strudel, kuchen, fresh-made pickles, reuben sandwiches, pfefferneuse, baked goods, BBQ, corn, and lots more. You can even buy German sausage from Voise Sausage (across from the east end of the Biergarten - buy it Saturday as they often sell out) to take home and cabbage rolls, etc., in packages from the various vendors. Activities include: flea market, arts and crafts vendors, art show, used book sale, historical museum, horseshoe tournament, browsing the shops in town (including a quilt store). The drug store sells T-shirts; buy early, they sell out fast. There is a geneology room at the museum which would be of interest for anyone with family of 'Germans who lived in Russia' descent, from which 75% of the town of Odessa come from. . . Stan's relatives came over in 1906. For kids: go karts, 3-on-3 basketball, electronic games at the Youth Garden, a junior high dance and a high school dance on Saturday night. There is a sausage breakfast Saturday in the Biergarten and Sunday at the school. A 5-K and 10-K fun run starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with registration from 7 - 8 a.m. The Deutschesfest Parade starts at 10 a.m. Saturday - a great place to see bands , vintage cars, lots of floats, and huge, awesome farm machinery at the end. The Biergarten ($3 charge - you get a stamp so you only pay once) opens at noon on Saturday with 5 bands playing throughout the day (until 1 a.m.) - a great place to dance. When the Oom Pas and Mas play at 12:30 and 4 p.m., it gets rockin' to the German Music. You get to watch awesome polka dancers, and most of the audience joins in on the chicken dance ! It's a fun, fun event! There is also an outdoor stage with 6 bands over the weekend. Church services are available for those interested. This is the major fundraiser for the community, so there's lots of action, and $ go for the activities/sponsorships of the various groups, including the schools.

Camping can be done on the football field, city park, parking lots behind the Biergarten and near the grain elevators, and even on city streets. This event brings about 10,000 to town over the three days, so where ever you find a spot is ok with them; you don't need to stealth camp. Stan and I will camp in our white EVC across the street behind the Biergarten or down the street by the grain elevators. We'd love to have other Wetwesties join us. It's always a great time in Odessa on the 3rd weekend in September. This is the 34th year, and we've never missed one yet! If you can't make it this year, put it on your calendar for 2005!