Winter Wonderland in Downtown Camas is a new event that runs from December 1 – 12, 2020, and hosts a number of vibrant and winter-inspired activities that are free for the community and can be done socially distanced.
December First Friday will bring both virtual and in-person winter fun for the entire family to Downtown Camas. Winter themed virtual activities will be posted on the First Friday Facebook page all week and then on First Friday, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, downtown merchants will host a cookie walk and downtown windows will be decorated in a Winter Wonderland theme and you can vote for your favorite to be entered to win prizes. After-hours holiday shopping, art shows and downtown winter photo op displays will also be part of the fun.
The Winter Wonderland event includes beautiful winter window displays, a cookie walk, winter-inspired photo ops, giving trees, holiday stories, and free winter activity bags for kids and is a collaboration between the Downtown Camas Association (DCA), Camas Parks and Recreation, and downtown merchants.
“Though we’ve had to pivot our downtown holiday events this year for safety reasons,” says Carrie Schulstad, Executive Director for the DCA, “We still wanted to provide opportunities for families to come together and create memories in Downtown Camas. We’ve collaboratively come up with event activities spread out over 12 days to bring some joy and whimsy to the community and that people can do at their own pace and comfort level. We’re hoping this also encourages strong holiday shopping and dining support for our downtown businesses as well. We won’t have a tree lighting ceremony this year, but the City will install and decorate a tree by December 4th to add to the winter charm of our beautiful downtown.”
A new game or activity will be posted on the Downtown Camas First Friday Facebook Page every morning November 29 – December 4th and the winners from the activities throughout the week will be announced on the Facebook Live event on First Friday at 5:00 PM. Winners receive downtown gift cards and prizes. Those watching will have many chances to win for commenting during the Facebook Live.
Activities include:
Winter Wonderland Window Displays
- Downtown merchants will have their windows decorated in winter and holiday themes to enjoy as you stroll through town doing your holiday shopping. Vote for your favorite window on First Friday, December 4th. Pick up your voting slip at Papermaker Pride, 339 NE 4th. Each window will also have a hidden woodland animal for children to find.
Cookie Walk in Downtown Shops (on First Friday, December 4th, 5:00-8:00 pm)
- Pick up a “Cookie Bag” at Papermaker Pride starting at 5 pm and visit participating merchants to fill your bag with a free individually wrapped cookie from each.
Giving Trees for Local Families
- Choose a gift tag from a downtown giving tree in participating locations and buy the gift for a family in need. Thank you to Craft Warehouse for donating the trees.
Holiday Window Stories
- Every day from December 1-12, the first half of a locally written winter or holiday-inspired short story will be posted on the Downtown Camas Association Facebook page and on the Holiday Window Stories webpage. A downtown merchant will have the rest of the story posted in their window. The post will tell you which window the rest of the story is in.
Kids’ Activity Bags December 7 – 12
- Fun winter-inspired activity bags for kids will be provided by Camas Parks & Recreation. Pick up at City Hall. For more details, visit the City of Camas and Parks and Recreation on Facebook.
Snowman and Winter Photo Ops in Downtown
- Surprise snowman and other winter-inspired figures and photo ops will be throughout Downtown Camas for young and old to discover and take pictures of or with. Thank you to local resident Maria Stefanovic for volunteering her time to create many of the displays.
The DCA works year-round to strengthen and promote Downtown Camas through partnerships, events, beautification and historic preservation projects, economic development, advocacy, and tourism functions.
For all the information about the event, visit Winter Wonderland in Downtown Camas online, or on Facebook.
