Every year, downtown Camas is overtaken by the Halloween spirit as they prepare for a slew of events — the most popular being the Boo Bash. At the Boo Bash, kids can dress up, trick-or-treat, and compete in games. This year, the Downtown Camas Association (DCA) is renovating the festival to include more food, activities, and fun.
The Boo Bash will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 29 this year.
Typically, the Boo Bash consists of opening storefronts and treating the town like a neighborhood for kids to trick-or-treat in. But unlike previous years, the DCA will host an autumn-themed version of the Downtown Camas Farmer’s Market called the Spooky Season Market at the 2025 Boo Bash. . During the Boo Bash, businesses have a lot of opportunities to present themselves to the community, and the addition of the Spooky Season Market intends to extend the fun of the Boo Bash while also providing more space for local vendors to shine.
Institutions in downtown Camas such as the Papermaker Pride Store, Gallery 408, and the Camas Public Library always eagerly involve themselves in these events, creating a tight sense of community between store owners and customers.
Even as they approach adulthood, Camas High School (CHS) students still reflect fondly on their Boo Bash experiences and memories.
“I remember seeing lines out the door during the Boo Bash, ” CHS senior Nathan Hoff said. “I liked being able to dress up as anything I wanted and I got a lot of candy for it. At the Boo Bash, you got candy for having a good costume or winning little games at the different stores.”
Even without the Spooky Season Market, the Boo Bash brings festivity to Camas, alongside many other Halloween events that will be continuing this year. On Saturday, Oct. 25, the Camas Public Library will host their annual Haunted Happenings party, lasting from 6-8 p.m.. Haunted Happenings is a Halloween celebration inside the library for all age groups with games, prizes, and candy.
Additionally, Gallery 408, Camas’s primary art gallery, threw their Witches’ Night Out event on Friday, Oct. 24 from 5-7 p.m.. The Witches’ Night Out is a gallery-based event where people, primarily adults, dress up as various witches and warlocks and engage in a night of shopping and browsing, closing the evening with their annual witch cackle contest.
These events bring together the downtown Camas community and unite them in their love for Halloween. This time of year, the atmosphere is lively and festive regardless of the occasion.
“What makes it so special is that there’s a variety of different people and activities to do,” CHS senior Max Yoshida said. As someone who grew up in the downtown Camas neighborhood, Yoshida has a personal connection to these events. “The fact that we have a lot of access to these community events is really great because they’re so grand, yet there’s something for everyone here.”
The 2025 Halloween events in downtown Camas are only growing in popularity, size, and sentimental value for the residents. With the Boo Bash adopting new traditions this year, Halloween remains highly anticipated and celebrated among CHS students and Camas citizens alike.
