Camas Days, the city’s massive, two-day festival, set to celebrate its 50th anniversary

This beloved hometown festival, which draws an estimated 15,000 attendees every year, turns 50.

By Monika Spykerman, Staff writer

July 16, 2026 8:05 am

Members of the Utterly Unstoppable Lactose Legends sprint to victory in the Bathtub Races during Camas Days in downtown Camas on July 26, 2025. The annual festival will mark its 50th anniversary this year. The two-day event attracts roughly 15,000 people. (Photos by Tim Martinez/The Columbian files)

The official Camas Days poster from 1996. (Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

“The Fly-in King,” a pun on “The Lion King,” was The Flyit Academy’s award-winning float in the 2025 parade, which was themed “Broadway Comes to Camas.” (Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

TSMC Willy Wonka Float: TSMC’s float entry from 2025. (Contributed by Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

The popular beer and wine garden at Camas Days started in the early 1980s. (Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

The heavy iron bathtubs for the Bathtub Races are stored in a storage facility but must be pushed and pulled across town before each year’s Camas Days festival. (Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

The Shriners participate in every parade. This Shriner is shown racing down the street in 2024. (Contributed by Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

The bathtub races are wildly popular. This is from the 2007 Camas Days festival. (Contributed by Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce)

Lucky the duck from the Camas Ducky Derby waves to the crowd at the Camas Days Grand Parade in downtown Camas on Saturday, July 26, 2025. Tim Martinez/The Columbian

The Camas High School marching band performs in the Camas Days Grand Parade in downtown Camas on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian)

Classic cars roll down Northeast Fourth Avenue during the 2025 Camas Days Grand Parade. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian files)

Dancers from Virtuosity Dance at VEGA perform July 26, 2025, in the Camas Days Grand Parade in downtown Camas. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian)

A row of utility terrain vehicles by Addiction Powersports Northwest rolls along on July 26, 2025, during the Camas Days Grand Parade in downtown Camas. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian)

Stretch The Clown from the Shriners drives through the Camas Days Grand Parade in downtown Camas on July 26, 2025. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian files)

Camas Days will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year on July 24 and 25. But perhaps the most remarkable thing is that this massive, two-day festival — which attracts roughly 15,000 people — is entirely organized by the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce’s only two employees: Samantha Horner, who works part time; and the chamber’s executive director, Camas City Council member Jennifer Senescu. The two of them plan the festival over six months while fulfilling all their regular job duties, Horner said. It’s hard work but worthwhile when the festival is finally underway.

“People love this festival. They say it’s the best festival we do,” Horner said. “They have no idea that Jen and I are behind the scenes scrambling. That’s such a compliment to me because I’m like ‘Really? We pulled it off!’ ”

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