Camas is the kind of town where “Once Upon a Time” never goes out of style.
The historic mill town has developed in impressively unlikely ways — high-tech industries, upscale housing, growing arts and foodie communities — but a big part of its personality always will be pride in its storied, small-town past. “I’m a lifelong resident. I remember parades clear back to the mid-1960s,” said Brent Erickson, executive director of the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce — who has spent the last 17 years recapturing little bits of that youthful magic in the weekend-long festival called Camas Days.
“Once Upon a Time” is the theme of this year’s Camas Days, and Erickson said that’s a direct appeal to children and their families to get involved in what’s now a 43-year tradition. Erikson said he’s especially looking forward to not just one but two big parades. The one that starts assembling at 11:30 a.m. July 21, and actually gets marching at 12:15 in front of City Hall, is free and open to all children, Erikson said.
The really big parade starts at 11 a.m. July 22. That’s the Camas Days Grand Parade, which had a whopping 73 different groups signed up to participate when The Columbian spoke with Erickson last week. Erickson has encouraged all participants to mind the “Once upon a time” theme, be it local-historical or fairy-tale favorite; for example, he said, Georgia-Pacific, which owns the historic paper mill that anchors downtown, will deploy an opulent “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” float.
Right after the Grand Parade comes the Indy 500 of East County — bathtub races. This intensely competitive event involves teams of three. Two racers push a wheeled bathtub along a short track while a steerer occupies the position of honor, the tub itself. It’s full of water, of course. The event is always organized and supplied by Lutz Hardware — except for the water, which whooshes out of a Camas Fire Department hose.
Special streets
The streets of downtown Camas are beloved for their pretty, tree-lined quaintness. During Camas Days, though, some of them get repurposed.
Dallas Street at Fourth Avenue will morph into “Kids Street” and get stuffed full of fun and games: climbing wall, fast-pitch, jump house and slide, and much more. It’s all free and open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days of the festival.
Meanwhile, Birch Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues becomes the more grown-up “Wine and Microbrew Street” — aka “A Toast of Camas” — which will be gated to the public like a beer garden. Entry is $5 for 21 and over only and the entertainment lineup is the same both nights: at 5 p.m. it’s acoustic rock with the Beth Willis Band, followed at 7 p.m. by Wise Guys.
Local vendors will line the streets throughout with handmade arts and crafts and food concessions.
Speaking of food, Grove Field, the local airport up on 267th Avenue in Fern Prairie, will host a Saturday Steak Feed. Bring your own or buy one there, with sides and drinks all provided. Chicken is available too. Proceeds from this $15-a-head event will benefit the Camas Washougal Aviation Association Scholarship Fund. Grove Field also hosts an open house July 23, featuring $25 airplane rides.
Final fun
July 23 is the real climax of the whole extravaganza: a daylong softball tournament featuring various local teams at Liberty Field, corner of Ione Street and 19th Avenue; and, of course, the Ducky Derby.
Sponsor your own rubber ducky racers by buying $5 tickets from the local Rotary Club throughout the weekend’s festivities; then, gather on the Third Avenue bridge at noon July 23 as a dump truck drops 5,000 hopeful, labeled duckies into the Washougal River. Cheer your racer along as the current takes over; all the ducks eventually funnel down a narrow chute so somebody crosses the finish line first.
The winner gets more than ducky feelings about supporting Rotary and its many good deeds; the Grand Prize is a weeklong condo stay in Hawaii, donated by Riverview Bank (with $1,000 toward airfare).
Erickson said he remembers when Camas Days started out as a humble sidewalk sale. Today, he said, it’s a “multifaceted event that spreads all over town and takes about 100 volunteers to bring off. It’s huge.”
