6 Things to Do in Vancouver WA This Weekend - Blueberries, Classic Cars, Ice Cream, Circus, Harvest Days & Film (July 17–19, 2026)

The weekend actually starts Thursday evening, and this is worth knowing about. The Waterline Film Festival is a brand-new, inaugural event bringing independent short films to the Vancouver Waterfront under the open summer sky - overlooking the Columbia River at 695 Waterfront Way. Seating opens at 7:30 PM, the show begins at 8 PM, and the setting alone is worth the price of admission, which is zero.

Founded on the vision of Isabella Noe, the Waterline Film Festival is built around the idea that film belongs to everyone - that independent cinema can bring together longtime film lovers and first-time attendees, cinephiles and casual viewers, in the same outdoor space on a warm July evening. An open-caption policy is built into the event from the start, ensuring the deaf and hard-of-hearing community can participate fully. Vancouver's Waterfront Park at dusk, independent short films, the Columbia River behind the screen - this is a first-of-its-kind evening in a city that deserves exactly this kind of thing.

Battle Ground pulls out all the stops every July for Harvest Days - three full days of community celebration that has been a Clark County tradition for as long as most residents can remember. It starts Friday evening with the Harvest Nights Cruise from 6 to 9:30 PM, where classic and vintage vehicles 1995 and older cruise through Battle Ground's main streets in a perfect warm-up for the bigger events ahead.

Saturday is the centerpiece: a morning Fun Run followed by the Fred Meyer Grand Parade with more than 90 entries - floats, bands, community groups, and the kind of small-town parade energy that you simply cannot replicate anywhere else. The carnival runs all weekend at Battle Ground High School with rides, games, and the full festival atmosphere. A Kids Market, local wine, beer, and spirits, and live music round out the programming. The full three-day schedule is on battlegroundfestivals.com, but the short version is this: Battle Ground becomes the most festive place in Clark County for an entire weekend.

In its seventh year, the Hockinson Blueberry Festival has quietly become one of the most beloved small-community events in all of Clark County. Hosted by the Hockinson Main Street Team and Hockinson School District, this is a genuinely farm-to-festival experience - a short country drive to the old Hockinson middle school building (now the Community Center), now transformed for a single perfect Saturday morning into the best blueberry celebration in southwest Washington.

The farm stands are the stars: Majestic Farms, Prairie Berry Farm, and Hummingbird Hill Farms bring fresh, ripe blueberries from the fields to the festival, and they consistently sell out before the event closes at 1 PM. Beyond the berries, expect Barn Dog Flower Farm arrangements, Good Year Farms native plants, honey and beeswax candles, fresh produce, blueberry milkshakes from Hockinson Market using local blueberries, blueberry coffee cake, blueberry lemonade, blueberry popcorn, a pie baking contest, a pie eating contest at 11:30 AM, kids' area, concessions, local vendors, and live music throughout the morning. The Hockinson Heights Elementary School Garden Club brings lavender bundles. This is a community showing up for itself in the best possible way.

Cruise the Couve is not just a car cruise - it's a direct continuation of a Vancouver tradition that goes back over 70 years, to the 1950s when Main Street became the place to see and be seen on a Saturday night. What started as a grassroots cruising culture evolved over the decades through the beloved Cruisin' the Gut era and into the modern Cruise the Couve format, now drawing hundreds of classic, custom, hot rod, and vintage vehicles through Uptown Village from noon to 10 PM - and 5,000 to 10,000+ spectators lining the sidewalks throughout the day.

There is no registration required to participate in the cruise - just show up with your vehicle and join the flow. Spectator parking is free above Mill Plain. Bring a lawn chair and stake out a sidewalk spot along Main Street between 15th and 28th. New in 2026 is the Chrome & Craft Market Alley - a collaboration with Pop-Local that brings two full blocks on 19th Street alive as a curated vendor market from 3 to 8:30 PM, where local makers, artists, and small businesses set up shop right alongside the cruise. Trap Door Brewing is the official event host, and downtown Vancouver's restaurants, taprooms, and brewpubs are all open throughout the day.

After a wildly successful debut in 2025, Scooped! returns to Esther Short Park for its second year - bigger, sweeter, and this time landing on National Ice Cream Day (Sunday, July 19). This is an all-you-can-eat ice cream festival, which means your ticket covers unlimited scoops from 50+ flavors across Scoop Valley, served by top local and national ice cream brands. From classic vanilla and cookies & cream to dairy-free and genuinely inventive new flavors, there's something for every palate - and no limit on how much you try.

Beyond the ice cream itself, Scooped! is a full festival experience. The Sugar Rush Main Stage hosts live performances all day. Sweet Spot Bingo runs throughout with prizes. The Milkshake Throwdown and Sundae Showdown are crowd favorites. The Sprinkle Zone has giant games and activities. Savor Square brings savory food trucks for when you need a break from sweet. The Meltdown Lounge serves craft cocktails and boozy shakes. A live mural painter works throughout the festival, and roller disco dancers add pure energy to the park. Sunday's National Ice Cream Day timing makes the whole event feel even more intentional - this is exactly where you should be on the sweetest day of the year.

There is nothing else in Clark County quite like Shoestring Circus. This Washington State-rooted traveling circus - founded in Bellingham, touring cities across the state each summer - brings an all-new, all-original production to Vancouver under a vintage big top tent at Hazel Dell Commons. The 2026 show is called Dreamland, and it follows two unlikely guides through a strange and whimsical world where dreams take on a life of their own. It's storytelling through circus - and that distinction matters.

What separates Shoestring Circus from a generic big top is the intimacy and the craft. Under the vintage tent, every seat feels close to the action. The international cast includes performers from across North America and Europe, among them acclaimed French acrobatic bicyclist Fleuriane Cornet. The show blends breathtaking aerial performances, daring acrobatics, juggling, physical comedy, live musicians, and a cast of unforgettable characters into an experience that genuinely works for every age group - kids are wide-eyed, adults are laughing, and somehow the whole thing adds up to something you can't quite describe afterward.

This weekend offers five showtime options across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A second run follows the week of July 23–26. These shows sell out - buy tickets in advance at shoestringcircus.com.