Art street faire to take over downtown Camas

What: Seventh annual Downtown Camas Vintage and Art Street Faire.

Featuring: Antique and vintage vendors, recyclers and fine arts, plus music and food.

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29.

Where: Fourth Avenue and Birch Street in downtown Camas.

Cost: Free

Just in case downtown Camas wasn’t already quaint and charming enough for you, an event this weekend will pull out all the stops.

The seventh annual Downtown Camas Vintage and Art Street Faire will bring 60-plus local artists, antique dealers and “upcyclers” to the streets for a festival of the fanciful. Local foodies will serve up some of their tastiest concoctions, and musicians will accent it all in style — with everything from elegant French jazz to smooth acoustic pop.

“Downtown Camas, with its historic buildings, tree-lined streets and wonderful shops is indeed beautiful in its own right,” said vendor coordinator Sarah Voss. “However, with the Vintage and Art Street Faire, the historic streets transform into a picturesque little market.”

Picturesque and passionate, that is: the village of boutique tents that spreads across the streetscape will be bursting with the unique skills and talents of dozens of artists and artisans who are eager to show it all off.

The first five years of the faire — yes organizers have insisted on that classy extra “E,” and who are we to argue? — emphasized indoor and outdoor furniture and home and garden items, as well as clothing and accessories, all with a eye focused toward vintage. It was organized by a couple of local businesses, Camas Antiques and Roost Reimagined — and it was “very successful — but we thought it could be an even bigger draw by including local artists,” said Carrie Schulstad, executive director of the Downtown Camas Association. “We have a real heart for art and local artists.”

There aren’t as many galleries in town as there used to be, Schulstad said, but the survivors are selling well and building waiting lists of artists eager to show their work. “It’s a resurgence that’s great to see,” Schulstad said. “It’s not just a blip.”

So last year, the street faire’s vintage vibe was expanded to include contemporary sculptors, painters, glass and metal artists, jewelers, fiber artists and many more. Some of these are fine artists working in entirely original ways; others are what you’d call “upcyclers,” taking used stuff that might have headed for the landfill and remaking it into clever and beautiful new things.

For example, there’s Christine Ingalls of Late Night Lampworks, returning to the street faire for a second year, who makes used glass and tin bottles and jars into jewelry and accessories; and new vendors Whimsical Details and The Dollhouse, both of which repurpose small and large items, from silverware to living room furniture, in ingenious ways.

“How better to be green?” Schulstad said. “People in the Pacific Northwest really care about that. It strikes a chord.”

What also strikes a chord, she added, is the friendliness of this fanciful festival.

“I love that people can really get to know the vendors, converse with them and learn from them,” said Schulstad. “It’s a place that allows relationships to happen. That’s the nice thing about a small town — there are only two degrees of separation. You can come here and know you’re going to make new friends.”