The 22nd annual event will return to historic Downtown Camas on Sat., May 11
CAMAS — The 22nd annual Camas Plant & Garden Fair will return to historic Downtown Camas on Sat., May 11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. filling the streets with all the offerings of over 100 local nurseries, growers, and garden artists.
Customers will find a large assortment of trees, plants, flowers, garden art and furniture, planters, veggie starts, birdhouses and feeders, pottery, metal art, flowering hanging baskets, garden benches, stone art, sculptures, herbs, and more. The Plant & Garden Fair is organized by the Downtown Camas Association (DCA).
Three new vendors coming to the fair this year include Oregon Coast Wasabi, Shady Grove Farm and Knots and Fringe Co. They help round out the growing list of quality one-of-a-kind plants and garden offerings available.
- Oregon Coast Wasabi — Will be offering real wasabi grown on the Oregon Coast. They are the only commercial wasabi grower in Oregon and their coastal farm climate is optimal for wasabi cultivation. They ship fresh produce directly from the farm nationally and internationally each and every week of the year. The locally grown wasabi is not processed in any way. They will feature Wasabi plants (Wasabi japonica) and wasabi products at the fair.
- Shady Grove Farm — Local couple, Steve and Lindsay Inzalaco, owners of Shady Grove Farm began operating the Summer of 2018. They grow a diversity of vegetables and some flowers for fun and beauty on their small, 1-acre farm in Camas. They are proud to be certified organic through the USDA and can guarantee that the food they grow is clean and healthy from seed selection through harvest. Shady Grove Farms believe that good food is medicine that nourishes the body and soul.
- Knots & Fringe Co. — Owner Chelsea Copenhaver will be selling macrame plant hangers of all sizes, small succulents (1.5″ pots) as well as larger succulents in her hand-molded cement pots. The items can be bought with or without the plants, and all the plants are grown from propagated leaves and cuttings from her permanent plants. All of the plant hangers are original designs created by Chelsea and knotted by hand.
The fair will have over 15 designated vendor experts that customers can talk with to learn more about plants, effective gardening techniques and other related topics. Look for the “yellow sun” signs on expert booth locations. Some of the expert topics include:
- Botany, Horticulture, Permaculture, Edible Plants, Fruit Trees
- Clematis: planting, pruning, fertilizing
- Container gardening
- Carnivorous plants
- Daylilies: growing, hybridizing, dividing
- Mosaic Rocks
- Herbs: culinary, household and medicinal uses, growing, harvesting & preserving
- Rhododendrons: planting, growing, disease and insect prevention
- Garden pot concrete repair and protection
- Beekeeping: Honey bees and Mason Bees
- Organic vegetable growing
- Using herbs in bath and body products
- Wasabi plant growth and use of wasabi
- Attracting birds and butterflies to your garden
- Lavender and herbs
The full Plant Fair Expert List and a list of fair vendors can be found at www.cwplantfair.org/vendors. Stop by the DCA info booth at 4th & Cedar fair and pick up the Expert List and booth locations.
“This is the event that garden enthusiasts wait all year for!” said Tina Eifert, the vendor liaison for the fair. “We’re thrilled to host this exciting celebration of garden art, and all things flowery, green and sprouting, curated from the best vendors in the area, on the tree-lined streets of beautiful downtown Camas.”
“This fair is a beloved blend of amazing quality plant and garden options and also community fun,” says Carrie Schulstad, executive director of the DCA. “For the gardening lovers, this event brings you so many unique choices with many hard to find offerings. In addition there is plenty to do for all ages and having all our wonderful downtown merchants and restaurants right here makes this such a one-of-a-kind experience that keeps people coming back year after year.”
There will be many engaging activities for kids. The “Find the Ladybug” game will be returning this year and will be played throughout participating downtown businesses. Players earn tickets to win a Family Gardening Basket for each ladybug they find. Children will also enjoy Rhys Thomas who is returning with his Strolling Jugglemania Show including a giant rose puppet, themed juggling, performances on stilts and other activities. The Kids’ Zone from 10am-3pm, found on Dallas Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues, will include garden related crafts and activities. The free petting zoo by 4-Seasons 4-H Club returns as well, bringing goats, bunnies, and more. Many of the event sponsors also provide free family friendly activities at their booths as well.
Live music at 4th & Cedar will include Bret Malmquist playing acoustic jazz guitar from 10 a.m.-noon and Lance Kinniard performing his popular folk and indie style music from noon-3 p.m..
Scout Troop 554 will be on hand with their trusty wagons to help citizens transport their purchases as needed.
The DCA will also be hosting the annual “Wheelbarrow Raffle Prize Drawing” with a large assortment of plants, trees, flowers, and garden art donated by fair vendors in a sturdy wheelbarrow donated by Lutz Hardware. The items will be on display and tickets can be purchased at the DCA table on the corner of 4th and Cedar on the day of the event. The winner will be drawn at 3:30pm.
The DCA thanks the generous sponsors of this event which include our main sponsor Waste Connections of Washington-Clark County as well as iQ Credit Union, Lizzabeth A Home Décor and Gifts, Vancouver Vision Clinic, Georgia Pacific, Renewal by Andersen, Gutter Helmet, Life Force Chiropractic, Roxana Ahmadifard-Edward Jones, city of Camas, Columbia Litho Printing and Graphics, Blossom Natural Health and Hibbs Creative.
The DCA is a 501c3 nonprofit Main Street Program, whose purpose is to strengthen and promote Downtown Camas culturally, socially, and economically.
For more information on the Plant Fair, see www.cwplantfair.org or www.fb.com/CamasPlantAndGardenFair.
For information on the DCA and other downtown events and initiatives, visit www.downtowncamas.com.
Information provided by Downtown Camas Association.
