Deborah Buckson, Executive Director of Historic Odessa Foundation guests.  A site featured on the National Park’s Highway to Freedom Trail, with the nation’s first house museum, Cantwell’s Tavern, a bank hosting a permanent art gallery, a pump house and more than 70 acres of grounds, Odessa offers educational and recreational opportunities for all ages.  We discussed their new publication, A Storied Past: Collections of Historic Odessa, by Philip Zimmerman Ph.D., that captures the historical character and significance of two important late-18^th– century Delaware houses, each of which retains a high percentage of original furnishings and locally made objects.   Deb spoke of the need for volunteers, from helping to catalog the thousands of pieces in their collection, but also guiding tours and helping with research.  They are looking for history and library science students, too, as research continues on the vast property.  Deb gave us the scoop on this year’s book choice for their holiday festivities, A Visit From St. Nicholas, the historic Wilson-Warner House will be decorated to honor the 200^th anniversary of its publication.  Details on special tours and other events for the holidays will be coming soon.

And finally, we discussed the 10th Annual Historic Odessa Brewfest, September 9^th with more than 58 local, regional, and national breweries, along with daylong musical performances on 2 stages, artisan vendors, Fusion Beer Mile, lawn games, locally sourced food and more to benefit the non-profit foundation’s historic conservation efforts as well as its diverse educational programming.

Advance tickets www.odessabrewfest.com.  For Historic Odessa location, events and hours go to historicodessa.org.