Vancouver, WA

There are very few fruit and veggies being sold at the Washougal or Camas Farmers Market. While I wasn’t really looking for fruit and veggies myself, I talked a friend into going to Washougal and Camas instead of the Vancouver Farmers Market because I had been there just last week and wanted to experience something new.

Washougal’s Farmers Market, located at Reflection Plaza on Main Street & Pendleton Way from 9am – 3pm and runs through August 30^th, had quite a few booths as they were gearing up for the second day of “Washougal Fest” and the Camas Farmers Market, found on NE Fifth Avenue between Birch and Cedar until October 4^th, which is usually open from 9:00 - 1:00 was open a few hours later to take advantage of “Camas Days.” It seemed odd that both these events were taking place on the same weekend, though it was nice for us.

Washougal was either just getting heated up or had finished its morning schedule when we arrived because there were not many people at the market. We discovered everybody was at Camas Days, where the streets were filled with booths and hundreds of people.

Everybody was lined up on both sides of the street a short distance away from where we parked and the local firemen were filling up a couple of bathtubs on wheels getting ready for Camas’s own version of a bathtub race…first you fill the tub with cold water, then one person climbs in and two push them around and between traffic cones and back. I was so busy taking pictures it wasn’t until later that I realized I had no idea who won the race.

My friend had gone in search of the market, which turned out to be one block over from the main event, while I strolled the huge array of products available. I saw kids everywhere. Some with painted faces, others standing in the spray of a fire hose and a brave few challenging the climbing wall. I had to endure the wonderful smell of food wafting past, wedged my way between laughing, excited people and the occasional dog. It made me wish I could stay for hours, but my friend needed to get back to work, so we left early.