The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

A few Northwesterners put on their hoods and grabbed their umbrellas on a rainy Friday evening and ventured out to discover the charms of the Friday Night Market alongside Esther Short Park.

There were fragrant herbs and plants of unimaginable beauty offered for sale, some with orange flowers hanging down like Chinese lanterns and some with 6-inch yellow trumpet blooms.

Two women had Dungeness crabs, spring Chinook salmon, red-rock snapper and oysters on ice, brought directly from Garibaldi, Ore., and Willapa Bay by DeepWater Seafood, fresher than you’ll find in stores, they said.

“How fresh?” a woman asked.

“Yesterday,” the two women said in unison.

Folks who hankered for fresh pears, apples, sweet Walla Walla salad onions, potatoes, leeks and more from Hermiston, Ore., could find it at the IKO Farm booth.

Louisa Hoekstra was ringing up the produce, $2.25 a pound for asparagus, $4 for two pounds, and dismissed the rain.

“I’m under a tent,” she said. “It could be worse.”

Nearby in another booth were fabulous treats from GarlicLady that would perk up any dinner. Free samples were offered, including pickled garlic flavored with jalapeño and habanero, and big green olives stuffed with morsels of blue cheese.

Ms. Muffett, a friendly lady in purple hair and a clown suit, painted a volleyball game, complete with the net, on a little girl’s face. Her fee? Whatever you feel it’s worth.

As Muffett sat under a white rain tent, she watched a band tuning up under another tent, as a tiny crowd gathered.

Katelynne Cox, a 15-year-old singer and model from Camas, performed with her new band, flashing pretty smiles, chatting with the audience and pleasing a crowd of maybe 40 folks.

Katelynne made her first CD at age 12, and her second, One Girl, comes out in June. She’s dreaming of a big career and is focusing on rock more than pop now, her manager said.

Now backed by a guitarist, drummer and bass player, the girl was unfazed by the small crowd that came out — perhaps due to the rain and because it was the first day of the annual Friday Night Market. The Vancouver Farmers Market continues today and Sunday.

“Let’s just do it,” she told the instrumentalists cheerfully. “Let’s get her done!”

Down in the food section, plenty was there, fish & chips, Kettle Corn, BBQ and more.

Eric Mendez in the Zabor booth was selling moist, fragrant and meaty tamales, freshly made by his mother, Lilia Mendez of Vancouver.

Like the other stand operators, he was hoping for better weather, and a bigger crowd, in the next two days.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.

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