Camas Days should be ‘sweet’ way to end July

Are you ready for Camas Days?

The 45th annual celebration, which regularly attracts more than 12,000 people to downtown Camas the last weekend in July, returns July 26-27 for two days and nights of “block party” fun.

This year’s Camas Days theme is “Candyland.”

The Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the annual celebration, is taking applications for Candyland-themed main parade entries through Friday, July 12. The main parade will kick off at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 27. This year’s parade grand marshal is Virginia Warren, a lifelong Camas resident and local historian.

All are welcome to enter the main parade, but entries must be decorated for the “Candyland” theme. A new regulation requires all people standing on floats, flatbeds or pickup trucks be secured with a harness. Sitting without a harness also is accepted. Each float must carry a fire extinguisher. Parade participants cannot throw candy from any moving vehicle. Parade entry applications are available on the Chamber’s website at cwchamber.com.

Other popular attractions include the Camas Days Kids Parade, which will march down Northeast Fourth Avenue at 11:30 a.m., Friday, July 26; bathtub races on Saturday, July 27; a “Kids Street” featuring a rock-climbing wall, fast-pitch booth, bouncy house and a 19-foot-tall slide; and the “Toast of Camas,” a wine and microbrew street that runs from 5 to 11 p.m. both nights and features live music.

The Post-Record will publish a four-page Camas Days preview guide on Thursday, July 25, to help readers navigate the two-day festival.