Patty Carroll

Here is a list of April events in our various Clark County / SW Washington communities:

April 1 - 3 & 5:

Cougar Pride Days Spring Cleanup (10:00a)

Annual celebration and Spring clean up of campus ground. Community members (especially WSU alumni!) are encourgaged to join in. Events include parade, barbecue and dodge ball tournament.

Location: WSU - 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave, Vancouver

April 4:

Vancouver's First Friday Artwalk (5:00 - 8:00p)

Free, fun and culturally stimulating evening of great conversation, delicious wine and Hors d'oeuvres, and guided tours of Downtown Vancouver's fine art galleries and public art installations.

Location: Starts at the Hilton - 301 W 6th St, Vancouver

Camas's First Friday (5:00 - 7:00p)

Exclusive Double Show at Nevado Gallery Launches with Kick-off Reception on Camas's First Friday - LIVE Ballerina's from the Washington State Ballets in Full Costume!

Location: 428 NE 4th Ave, Camas

April 5 & 6:

Vancouver Farmers Market (Saturday, 9:00a - 3:00p/Sunday, 10:00a - 3:00p)

Family, pet-friendly place to spend the day right across the street from Esther Short Park. Get fresh produce, plants & flowers, baked goods, delicious food, unique accessories and lots more.

Location: 8th & Esther St, Vancouver

April 12:

Healthy Kids Day (10:00a - 2:00p)

Enjoy under water Easter egg hunt, obstacle courses, crafts, family games, vendors and demonstrations.

Location: Clark County YMCA - 11324 NE 51st Cir, Vancouver

April 12 & 13:

Vancouver Farmers Market (Saturday, 9:00a - 3:00p/Sunday, 10:00a - 3:00p)

Family, pet-friendly place to spend the day right across the street from Esther Short Park. Get fresh produce, plants & flowers, baked goods, delicious food, unique accessories and lots more.

Location: 8th & Esther St, Vancouver

April 13:

Senior Connections Expo (11:00a - 4:00p)

Senior Expo with exciting services, ideas and resources will be available for active, healthy and independent senior lifestyles. With over 125 exhibitors, free health screenings, live music, interactive and informative presentations, prizes and giveaways and an art show, this is an event not to be missed!

Location: Hilton Hotel & Convention Center - 301 W 6th St, Vancouver

April 17 - 25:

Magenta Theater's "Once Upon A Palace Purple" (7:00p / Matinee on April 26 at 3:00p)

Queen Violet & King Percival rule happily over the Purple Kingdom. Violet fears that she'll never get her four "unusual" daughters married to suitable princes. Meanwhile in the Red Kingdom, Queen Scandalous & King Uberoff have to trouble finding eligible bachelors for their gorgeous daughters. A plotting Prime Minister and an unscrupulous manservant stir up trouble with potions and an eclectic bath of princes. But no one is prepared for the intervention of an unconventional Fairy Godmother! Suitable for all ages over 4.

Location: First Baptist Church - 108 W 27th St, Vancouver

April 19:

Earth Day at Salmon Creek Park (8:30a - 2:00p)

Enjoy lunch for a small suggested donation while enjoying a local park and learning about what is going on in our community. There will be more than 10 local environmental organizations with children's activities during the day. Everyone ie welcome!

Location: Salmon Creek Park/Klineline Pond - 1112 NE 117th St, Vancouver

Earth Day Celebration at Marshall Community Center (9:00a - 2:00p)

Beginning with a free pancake breakfast, this event also includes earth-friendly crafts, interactive booths, games, face painting & demonstrations. Demonstrations throughout the day include: Container Gardening, Family Green Cleaning, Recycled Garden Art, Composting, Benefits of Trees, Tree Planting, Rain Gardens, and Rain Barrells. There will also be a slide presentation on Global Warming, and other learning opportunities for the whole family.

Location: Marshall Community Center - 1009 E McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver

Nez Perce Chief Redhart Memorial Ceremony (10:00a)

A traditional memorial to remember Chief Redheart's Band, including singing to honor of their ancestors, the Riderless Horse (Empty Saddle) Ceremony, the Sacred Pipe Ceremony, and recognition of veterans.

Location: Fort Vancouver National Reserve (lower Parade Ground) - 612 E Reserve St, Vancouver

April 19 & 20:

Vancouver Farmers Market (Saturday, 9:00a - 3:00p/Sunday, 10:00a - 3:00p)

Family, pet-friendly place to spend the day right across the street from Esther Short Park. Get fresh produce, plants & flowers, baked goods, delicious food, unique accessories and lots more.

Location: 8th & Esther St, Vancouver

Chelatchie Prairie Railroad Excursions (12:00p & 2:00p departures)

Experience a 10 mile round trip train ride through beautiful North Clark County! Along the way to Moulton Falls, view the Lewis River from a cliffside vantage point and travel through the darkness of a 330 foot rock tunnel.

Location: Chelatchie Prairie Railroad - NE Railroad Ave, Yacolt

Columbia Dance Spring Concert 2008

Columbia Dance Company performs a diverse repertory and new works program. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children aged 12 and under.

Location: Vancouver School of Arts & Academics, Royal Durst Theatre - 3101 Main St, Vancouver

April 19 - May 11:

Hulda Klager Lilac Days 2008 (10:00a - 4:00p)

Gift Shop open, Hulda Klager Historical House Open, beautiful garden full of lilacs and other plants for your enjoyment. You can even buy lilacs to plant in your own garden or give to your gardening friends. Remember ... Mother's Day is May 13! $2 fee payable at the gate.

Location: Victorian Farmhouse Gift Shop & Garden, 115 S Pekin Rd, Woodland

April 25:

6th Annual Children's Cultural Parade (9:00a - 11:00a)

Celebrating the diversity of Vancouver, this event combines classroom instruction where children study cultures from around the world and share what they have learned in a parade. The parade provides an opportunity for each child to share with the community his or her own unique culture. The parade begins along 5th St in front of Pearson Air Museum and ends inside the Fort. Free of charge.

Location: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site - 612 E Reserve St, Vancouver

April 25 - 27:

Discovery Walk Festival (9:00a)

The festival celebrates fitness and promotes international friendships. A portion of the walk takes place at Fort Vancouver, where participants will be greeted by costumed interpreters as they continue on walking the inside perimeter of the Fort.

Location: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site - 612 E Reserve St, Vancouver

Clark County Home and Garden Idea Fair (Friday & Saturday, 9:00a - 8:00p / Sunday 10:00a - 5:00p)

Hundreds of ideas on how to make your home, yard and garden a more beautiful, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place. It's a fun-filled event, with activities for the entire family. In lieu of an admission charge, fairgoers are encouraged to bring a can or two of food to donate to Clark County food banks or cash to donate to Operation Warm Heart, which provides aid to low-income customers who need help paying electricity bills. Parking $5.

Location: Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds - 17402 NE Delfel Rd, Ridgefield

April 26:

National Park Family Day (10:00a - 4:00p)

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is the gateway to the Pacific Northwest national parks and the only national park in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. In the heart of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, the Naitonal Park Service at Fort Vancouver invites its community to Family Day. Family Day participants have the opportunity to meet park rangers and learn about park wildlife and natural and cultural history. Educational activities and entertainment are designed to create an awareness and interest in the national parks.

Location: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site - 612 E Reserve St, Vancouver

April 26 & 27:

Vancouver Farmers Market (Saturday, 9:00a - 3:00p/Sunday, 10:00a - 3:00p)

Family, pet-friendly place to spend the day right across the street from Esther Short Park. Get fresh produce, plants & flowers, baked goods, delicious food, unique accessories and lots more.

Location: 8th & Esther St, Vancouver

Patty & Scott Carroll - RE/MAX Equity Group, Vancouver WA

Music lovers in SW Washington are fortunate to have easy access to the Clark County Amphitheater. This modern outdoor venue is known to be one of the best in the state and, many believe, among the top in the US. As such, it is able to host some of the world's best musical performers. Here are some of the concerts / entertainers that will be here in 2008:

Rush - June 1 (Sunday), 7:30p

Kenny Chesney - June 3 (Tuesday), 7:30p

Uprising Festival - June 6 (Friday) - Cancelled

Tim McGraw - June 25 (Wednesday), TBD

The Police - July 11 (Friday), 7:30p

James Taylor - July 24 (Thursday), TBD

Maroon 5 & Counting Crows - Sept 20 (Saturday), TBD

Journey, Cheap Trick & Heart - Sept 21 (Sunday), TBD

The Clark County Amphitheater is located at 17200 NE Delfel Road in Ridgefield, WA. Seating capacity of the venue is more than 17,000. Both reserved and lawn seating is available depending on how much you want to spend. :-)

Patty & Scott Carroll - RE/MAX Equity Group, Vancouver WA

On March 29, 2008, there were over 450 'short sale' properties on the market in Vancouver, WA and the surrounding area (Clark County, Washington). Many times, potential home buyers would not know that the listings they are looking at are short sales but their real estate agent can get them that information. But what is a short sale?

A short sale is a property that is being offered at prices that, after expenses, is less than what is owed to the bank. That means that the lender or lenders will have to agree to accept less than what is owed them in order for anyone to buy the home at the listed price. Short sale properties have advantages and disadvantages for both buyers and sellers.

Selling a home as a short sale is one way that ‘upside down' homeowners who need to sell their home soon may be able to get out from under their mortgage without going through foreclosure and/or filing for bankruptcy protection. One downside for sellers, is that their credit will likely be impacted and that they may be taxed on and/or have to pay the amount that the bank does not collect.

Short sales can also benefit saavy buyers who want to buy a home for under market value and/or for investors who want to buy a property with built-in equity. A trade-off is that short sales may take longer than a standard home sale and there is no assurance that a buyer can purchase for the listed price.

Patty & Scott Carroll - RE/MAX Equity Group, Vancouver WA