5 Things to Do in Vancouver WA This Weekend — Unicorns, Paddle Boats, Fire Demos & Portland's Grand Parade (June 5–7, 2026)

If you have never done a Downtown Camas First Friday, this June edition — themed Unicorns, Rainbows & Mythical Beasts — is the one to start with. Every first Friday of the month, the Downtown Camas Association turns the entire historic main street into a walkable evening event, with shops staying open late, galleries hosting receptions, live music spilling out of doorways, and a unique passport activity that sends you on a mission through the neighborhood. It is one of the most charming traditions in Clark County, and June's theme takes it to a completely different level of fun.

The passport activity this month is a Sticker Scavenger Hunt — find "Otis the Ogre" hidden in participating merchant windows throughout downtown, collect clues, match stickers to your passport, and enter to win prizes. The more stickers you collect, the more chances you have. Pick up your passport at the DCA table at Fuel Medical Group at 314 NE Birch St. While you are downtown, the evening also includes a 5 PM ribbon cutting for the brand-new Mini Art Gallery at Gallery 408 — a traveling miniature gallery concept brought to life by Camas miniature artist Lara Blair. Art receptions with wine, chocolate, and live music are happening simultaneously at Attic Gallery, Gallery 408, RedDoor Gallery, and the Second Story Gallery. Girl Scouts are running crafts including hatching a mermaid egg and making fairy sticks. Free cotton candy from Grace Church. And if you show up in unicorn, rainbow, or mythical beast attire, you are entered to win a special prize.

The City of Ridgefield's Big Paddle Waterfront Festival is one of those events that reminds you why people drive hours to visit the Pacific Northwest — and Clark County residents get to do it on a Saturday morning without leaving home. Set on the Ridgefield waterfront along Lake River, the festival combines a full waterfront celebration with multiple paddle experiences that range from a beginner-friendly dragon boat try-out to a guided wildlife nature tour through the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge — one of the most important bird and wildlife refuges on the entire Pacific Flyway.

The headline paddle is the BIG Paddle itself: a five-mile roundtrip guided flotilla along Lake River to the Columbia River and back to the Ridgefield Waterfront. Kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes are all welcome — bring your own boat (BYOB registration covers entry to the guided paddle) or rent through Alder Creek Kayak on site. For those who want something different, Ridgefield's 40-foot dragon boats are available for a try — no experience required, all equipment provided, ages 14 and up. Paddlers need to arrive at 8:30 AM and can expect to return by 11:30 AM to noon. And for the wildlife enthusiasts, Alder Creek Kayak leads a 120-minute guided nature tour through the refuge's easy paddling areas, where you have strong chances of seeing beavers, muskrats, deer, ducks, bald eagles, great blue herons, cormorants, and tundra swans. After you are done on the water, a kayak check lets you store your boat while you grab food and enjoy live music at the waterfront festival, then head back out if you want.

Every first Saturday in June, Clark County Fire District 6 opens Station 63 in Salmon Creek to the community — and it is one of those events that is genuinely better than you expect. This is not a simple handshake-and-look-at-a-truck afternoon. The Annual Open House is a full production of live firefighting demonstrations, interactive safety education, and hands-on activities designed to connect families with the people who protect their neighborhood every single day.

The afternoon runs on a tight demo schedule starting at 12:30 PM: a tower rescue demonstration, followed by a K-9 show at 1 PM, a car fire prop demonstration at 1:30 PM, a vehicle extrication demo at 2 PM, and a live fire demonstration at 2:30 PM. Kids can work through the Jr. Firefighter Challenge — a series of interactive activities and safety education tasks — and get fire station tours with photos taken inside an actual fire engine. Trauma Nurses Talk Tough will have low-cost bike helmets available for purchase. Free hot dogs and snow cones for everyone. Clark County Fire Cadets from local high schools will be on hand as well, making it a great intergenerational community moment that shows the depth of what fire service looks like in this county.

Crown Park in Camas is one of the most beautiful community park settings in Clark County — a green, tree-lined space right in the heart of a city that consistently ranks among the most livable small towns in Washington State. The Camtown Arts & Music Festival is a reimagined version of the beloved Camtown Youth Festival, now expanded to celebrate creativity across all ages with a broader vision: artists, performers, makers, and the community together for a full Saturday of free outdoor experience.

Four stages of live performances run throughout the day, meaning there is always something happening somewhere in the park. Interactive art demonstrations and mini workshops let attendees actually make things, not just watch. Local artists and vendors line the festival grounds. A youth juried art show is running this year on the theme "My American Story" — youth artists ages 5–18 submitted work across any size and medium, and the show is a genuinely moving display of what young creative minds in this community are making. Family-friendly activities fill in the gaps for every age group. Camas Parks & Recreation puts significant energy into this event every year, and the transition from a youth-focused festival to a full community arts celebration gives it a different kind of depth. This is Camas showing the rest of Clark County who it is.

The Portland Rose Festival has been running since 1907, and 2026 marks an important evolution of its most beloved tradition. This year, the Rose Festival is merging its two signature parades — the Grand Floral Parade and the Starlight Parade — into a single, extraordinary evening event: the Grand Floral Starlight Parade. What that means in practice is four hours of pageantry, from golden hour all the way through the glittering darkness of a Portland summer night, all in one unbroken experience on the streets of downtown Portland.

The parade unfolds in two distinct phases. The Grand Floral portion steps off at 6:30 PM while there is still daylight, featuring the elaborate floral floats, marching bands, equestrian units, and community groups that have defined the Rose Festival for over a century. Then, as the sky darkens around 8:30 PM, the Starlight portion steps off — illuminated floats, lighting effects, and the kind of nighttime spectacle that makes the old Starlight Parade one of Portland's most beloved events. The two portions run sequentially along the same route, which means you get both experiences without moving your spot on the sidewalk. For Clark County residents, this is 30 minutes south on I-5 — one of the most accessible world-class civic events in the country, right in your backyard.