Downtown Camas's holiday season starts Friday night, Nov. 6, and runs for five weeks. Most of it happens on two kinds of evenings. The Friday evenings are hosted by the Downtown Camas Association or the City. The Thursday evenings are ticketed and raise money for the association that keeps the rest going. Running through the middle is a prize window that opens the day after Thanksgiving and closes at 10 a.m. on Dec. 11. Whether a given evening falls inside that window decides whether a gift bought at a participating downtown shop also earns an entry toward $1,000 to spend downtown.
Here's the full calendar for 2026, set against that window.
| Date | Day | Event | Cost | Inside the Golden Ticket window? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 6 | Friday | First Friday: "Thankful for YOU (and pie)," 5–8 p.m. | — | No |
| Nov. 12 | Thursday | Holiday Sip & Shop, 4–9 p.m. | $25 ticket | No |
| Nov. 27 | Friday | Little Box Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | — | Yes, opens 10 a.m. |
| Nov. 28 | Saturday | Small Business Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | — | Yes |
| Dec. 4 | Friday | Hometown Holidays, 5–8 p.m. | Free | Yes |
| Dec. 10 | Thursday | Holiday Sip & Shop, 4–9 p.m. | $25 ticket | Yes, last evening |
| Dec. 11 | Friday | Golden Ticket window closes, 10 a.m. | — | Closes |
Friday Opens With Pie and a Record Shop's First Year
The November First Friday is themed "Thankful for YOU (and pie)." It doubles as a multicultural celebration, with pie tastings and raffles, a pie-walk dance party, multicultural displays, kids' activities, art receptions and live music from 5 to 8 p.m.
At 6 p.m., the evening stops at 321 NE 4th Ave. for a ribbon cutting on a new expansion at Evergreen Vinyl. The Downtown Camas Association's business profile lists Avi Brown with the shop, which sells new and used vinyl, CDs and tapes, along with turntables and accessories. KOIN covered the store's grand opening in October 2025, so the expansion celebration follows that one by about a year.
The whole evening falls before the prize window opens, so purchases that night earn no Golden Ticket entries.
The Thursdays Pay for the Fridays
The November Holiday Sip & Shop on Thursday, Nov. 12 is the first evening of the season with an entry fee. A $25 ticket gets you a passport listing the "sipping" locations, plus one prize ticket toward an "Explore Downtown Camas" package from the merchants. That package includes dinner for two, movie tickets at the historic Liberty Theatre, free coffee, free chocolate and a bottle of olive oil. Every $10 you spend downtown that evening earns another entry. Check-in is at Fuel Medical Group, 314 NE Birch St.
The association states plainly what the ticket pays for. The event is a fundraiser for the Downtown Camas Association, the nonprofit behind the First Fridays, the elves and the holiday promotions that follow.
There are two Thursdays because of demand. In its 2024 annual report, the association says it added a second Sip & Shop after the first sold out, and the second one sold out too. The pattern held in 2025, with dates on Nov. 13 and Dec. 11. This year it's Nov. 12 and Dec. 10, and the December date promises new cocktail flavors and new locations, so the two nights aren't repeats.
The two Thursdays sit on opposite sides of the prize window. The Golden Ticket window doesn't open until Nov. 27, so a purchase on Nov. 12 earns Sip & Shop raffle entries only. On Dec. 10, the same purchase counts toward both.
Thanksgiving Weekend Opens the Window
Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year. The next two days are when the season turns from evening events into daytime shopping.
Little Box Friday runs Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Each participating merchant sets its own special, and you find out what it is by scanning a QR code inside the shop. Purchases at those locations also earn a free Golden Ticket entry toward the $1,000 Camas Cash prize.
Small Business Saturday follows on Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown businesses run specials, and Downtown Camas "elves" hand out goodies and coupons sponsored by the association. Participating shops give a Golden Ticket with each purchase. The elves are also handing out free chocolate bars, and some of them hide a special golden ticket worth $50 in Camas Cash at downtown merchants, sponsored by Sweet Intention Gift Boutique. Downtown Camas lists 2026 as the 16th annual Small Business Saturday.
The Golden Ticket Event ties the weekend together. A qualifying purchase at a participating merchant from 10 a.m. Nov. 27 to 10 a.m. Dec. 11 earns an entry to win a $1,000 Downtown Camas shopping spree. The 2026 list of participating businesses hasn't been posted yet. Last year's list gives a sense of its reach. In 2025, Little Box Friday locations included Autumn Leaf Books Store, Caffe Piccolo, Camas Antiques, Camas Bike & Sport, Gallery 408, the Liberty Theatre, Navidi's Olive Oil & Vinegars, Periwinkle's Toy Shoppe, RedDoor Gallery, Runyan's Jewelers, The Soap Chest and Tommy O's. The 2025 Golden Ticket roster overlapped heavily and added Camas Cheese Co. and 4Ever Growing Kids. Expect the 2026 lists to change, and check the event pages before planning a route around any one shop.
The Tree Lights Inside the Window
Hometown Holidays lands on the first Friday in December, Dec. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. Camas Parks & Recreation hosts and organizes it, and it doubles as the December First Friday. The tree lights at 5 p.m. The evening includes photos with Santa, kids' crafts, free hot cocoa, school and community choirs, bands and dancers, street food vendors, art shows, and downtown restaurants and shops open for business.
The association's part is specific. It sponsors the "snow" and makes sure it falls, sends elves out with goodies for kids from its Holiday Swag Wagon, and helps coordinate the pedestrian safety corridors during the tree lighting. Logistics details beyond date and time aren't published yet. For those, the City's Hometown Holidays page and Camas Parks & Rec at 360.834.5307 are the sources to check closer to the date.
Last year's tree lighting was an evening out. This year it's also the middle of the Golden Ticket window, a week after it opened and six days before it closes. A gift bought at a participating shop between carols counts toward the drawing.
The Last Evening That Counts
The Dec. 10 Sip & Shop is the final evening of the season inside the Golden Ticket window, which closes at 10 a.m. the next morning. That Thursday is the one night when a purchase can earn Sip & Shop raffle entries for every $10 spent and a Golden Ticket entry at the same time, as long as the shop is on this year's participant list.
How you split the five weeks depends on what you want from them:
- A free evening with kids: Dec. 4. The tree lighting at 5 p.m., the snow and Santa photos are all free of charge.
- An evening before the tree lighting: Nov. 6. Pie, live music, art receptions and the Evergreen Vinyl ribbon cutting at 6 p.m.
- A night out with friends that also funds downtown: Nov. 12 or Dec. 10. Both run 4 to 9 p.m. with check-in at 314 NE Birch St. Both dates sold out in 2024, so buy tickets early.
- Most of the gift list in one daylight trip: Nov. 27 for the QR-code specials or Nov. 28 for the elves' chocolate bars. Golden Ticket entries count on both days.
- One last shot at the $1,000 drawing: Dec. 10, before the window closes the next morning.
One more downtown stop stays on the map all season. The Camas Public Library is open during its $2.1 million, two-phase renovation, which began June 29. Core services continue, and children's materials are still available, mostly on the main floor with some overflow in the basement. A stop there for picture books fits easily between Small Business Saturday shops.
If you're downtown for Sip & Shop or the tree lighting and want to talk through to talk through a move, a sale or what your Camas home is worth, Kristen Anzellotti is happy to meet over coffee on NE 4th. Let's Connect.
