Camas-Washougal Harvest Fest comes to fruition

Sean Guard has done a lot of things in his decades-long professional career, which has included stints as Washougal High School athletic director, event manager for professional golfer Peter Jacobson, the mayor of Washougal, and owner of an event production company, among other titles.

He acknowledges that he’s getting to the point where he’s starting to slow down to some degree. However, he still believes he has the experience, skills and desire to make meaningful contributions to his hometown and surrounding area.

“I recently got in with a couple of guys here in Clark County that are from this area as well,” he said. “We asked ourselves, ‘Have we done enough yet? Have we done enough for everybody else?’ We (decided we) could still do some stuff, raise some money for some folks, have some fun at the same time, and plug into some things that aren’t happening here.”

Guard believes that his latest venture will accomplish all of those goals. His company, Metropolitan Productions, will hold the first annual Camas-Washougal Harvest Fest, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28, at Marina Park in Washougal.

The event will feature musical performances from Eagle Eyes, a British Columbia-based Eagles tribute band; Cadillacs For Everyone, a Portland-based band fronted by Camas native Jim Hively; and Washougal native Wayne Havrelly, as well as a cornhole tournament, a beer garden, kids’ activities, and a variety of vendors.

“Right now, everything’s moving forward, everything’s positive, and everybody is just really coming together to make this thing something (special),” Guard said. “It’s going to be like Camas Days of a different type. A little bit smaller, but with entertainment a few notches above that.”

Guard said that the event was born from his desire to create a new event for east Clark County.

“We’re always looking for different things to do, especially locally, when we’ve got some capacity,” he said. “(The Harvest Fest) fills a niche that doesn’t exist here right now. As a matter of fact, there isn’t a well-done Oktoberfest anywhere in the county anymore. We used to have the Vancouver Sausage Fest, but I think that died about 15 years ago.”

Guard will donate the profits from the event to the Washougal and Camas high schools’ fall athletics programs.

“Camas and Washougal high school sports will benefit from most of the proceeds of the event once all the bills are paid,” Guard said. “We are literally giving them all of the profits.

“In addition, the Panther Foundation is organizing the cornhole tournament as part of the activities at the festival, and they will profit from the revenue of that event. The Panther Foundation will also have a food booth at the event, and they keep all of that revenue as well.

We are just starting in with the Camas Boosters to see what we can do to partner with them on some additional fundraising activities within the event.”

Guard said that the school leaders will redirect the donations to students who are interested in participating in a sport or activity, but can’t pay the required fees to do so.

“Years ago, when (I was) playing, we might have had to pay for our health insurance before football practice or something. Now it can cost kids some serious money to play on teams,” Guard said. “We’d like to have a nice scholarship fund put together where anybody from either school — girl, boy, it doesn’t matter what the sport is, or even the club or activity — doesn’t have to worry about coming up with the fee to be able to do it.”

Guard sought out the Port of Camas-Washougal, which he called “an ideal little spot,” to host his event.

“We’ve done other events down there,” he said. “Pre-Covid, we had the Weird Beer Festival for at least two years down there, and set it up very similarly to what we’ll be setting this one up for. That park is so ideal for a lot of things like this. It sits right there on the water, it has a lot of parking, and it’s an easy place for everybody to (get to). And it’s right on the line between both towns, (perfect for an) event like this.”

Guard, whose production company has worked with the Eagles, said that Eagle Eyes is the best tribute band he’s ever heard.

“I got a chance to listen to them just on a lark out at one of the wineries in Ridgefield, and my jaw was on the ground,” he said. “I’m going, ‘I’ve heard some really good tribute bands. I’ve never really ever been to one for the Eagles, because one, they didn’t exist (previously), and two, I’ve heard the best. Why would I want to?’

“But these guys were — well, my jaw was on the ground. And so at the break, I went up and I told him, I said, ‘Guys, you are — holy hell, you guys are phenomenal.’ To be able to get them for little towns like Washougal and Camas in the way that we are, back-to-back two nights in a row, (is fantastic).”

Cadillacs For Everyone bills itself as a “premier Portland party band that will take (listeners) on a musical journey.” Havrelly, a retired news anchor and former Post-Record sports reporter, has performed at a wide variety of establishments and events, including the Portland Seafood and Wine Fest, in recent years.

“(Cadillacs For Everyone does) a bunch of popular covers, rock-and-roll and everything (else) as well,” Guard said. “Wayne does a lot of covers. He’s got a little bit of his own original music as well, but he’s just a one-man band, while Cadillacs for Everybody are a five-piece. And again, (with Hively and Havrelly) you’ve got that Camas-Washougal thing.”

Cadillacs For Everyone will perform at 3:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, while the Eagle Eyes will perform at 6:30 p.m. on both days. Havrelly will take the stage at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets cost $20 and can be purchased at aftontick ets.com/C-WHarvestFest.