No one ever said being a part of the annual Camas Days' Bathtub Races was easy. The team pictured here spilled more than a little frigid water while navigating the already-rainy race course at the 2015 Camas Days. The races pit teams of three -- with one person sitting inside the bathtub in a pool of freezing cold water while two other team members push the tub down Fourth Avenue in historic, downtown Camas. (Post-Record file photo)
One of two three-person teams from Lutz Hardware competes in the 2016 Camas Days Bathtub Races. Both of the Lutz teams dominated the competition last year, taking first and second place in the races. This year, Aaron Lutz is going to be out of town and the hardware store will only have one three-person team, so competitors will vie to see if they can topple the reigning champion. The bathtub races start at 1 p.m., Saturday, at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Camas. (Post-Record file photos)
By Tori Benavente, Post-Record staff writer
The red bathtubs are hot and ready for this year’s Bathtub Races at Camas Days. The annual race begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, at Fourth Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Camas.
This annual Camas Days event will pit eight three-member teams from local Camas businesses against each other to see which business will be the bathtub champions of the 2017 Camas Days celebration. One member sits in a bathtub full of cold water and steers, while the other two members push the bathtub to the finish line.
Doug Quinn, who has been announcing the Camas Days parade since 1999, said the bathtub races are not something you see anywhere else.
“I don’t know any other community that would do something as silly as a bathtub race, but Camas does,” Quinn said.
Brent Erickson, executive director of the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce said the annual race is an exciting event — especially considering that people watching from the sidewalks can watch as the bathtub teams get drenched with frigid water while racing down the street.
Aaron Lutz, from Lutz Hardware, has organized the races for the past 12 years, but is passing the torch to Erickson for this year only, as Lutz will be out of town, celebrating a milestone with his wife during the 2017 Camas Days celebration.
Last year the Camas hardware store nabbed first and second place in the race, but there is fewer competition this year, as the hardware folks will only have one team competing in this year’s bathtub races.
