Vintage treasure hunters and art aficionados will be delighted to learn that, after skipping a year in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Camas Vintage & Art Faire is returning to Fourth Avenue with an in-person event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
What started 12 years ago as a small street sale offering vintage wares outside Camas Antiques, 305 N.E. Fourth Ave., has blossomed into a popular annual event with a huge array of vendors and artists, food and live music.
“Who doesn’t love to see if they can find a treasure?” said Carrie Schulstad, director of the Downtown Camas Association, which hosts the event along with Camas Antiques. “People love going through the fair and finding things that they wouldn’t expect.”
Schulstad said the fair is a nice blend of vintage-style goods and art pieces by sought-after professional artists.
“The vintage vendors are very artful and some of the art vendors use vintage items, but everything is high quality. That’s why people keep coming back,” Schulstad said. “It’s a very relaxed vibe. A lot of people start their Christmas shopping at the Vintage & Art Faire, even though it’s August.”
This year’s fair will include several high-caliber newcomers, Schulstad said, such as copper artist David Gerton, Keith Russell’s vintage car paintings and landscape artist Doug Kabel.
Schulstad also predicts that fairgoers will get a kick out of Jess Buckley’s print-on-demand tintype portraits, Windy Hill Weavers’ handcrafted rugs made with Pendleton fabric scraps and ShelMade’s artful vintage paper creations.
It’s not all about art, of course. Vintage vendors will sell a mix of antiques, upcycled and repurposed items. First-time vendor Pyrex Girl will offer a wide selection of Pyrex and Fire King kitchenware, vintage aprons and tablecloths. Browse the weathered boxes, chairs, windows, trunks and wagons from Handcrafted Home Decor by Shelley, Heidi & Alison.
Hungry shoppers can snack on kettle corn or savor a gyro or hot dog from on-site food trucks. Better yet, enjoy a sit-down meal at one of downtown Camas’ eateries, where outdoor tables may offer a front-row seat for the fair’s live jazz performances.
Kids can get artsy with free crafts at the Camas-Washougal Rotary Club booth. Rotary members will also sell $10 tickets for the club’s Ducky Derby fundraiser on Sept. 12.
Free parking is available in the lot on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Adams Street, or guests can park on the streets behind the Camas Public Library.
Although the majority of the event is outside, many downtown merchants will offer end-of-summer sales in conjunction with the fair, so guests should be prepared to adhere to the indoor mask mandate.
“The main thing is, we just want to support local business,” Schulstad said.
