The Three Festivals weekend in Coeur d'Alene promises to be spectacular.

The Downtown Street Fair is sold out. Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes is bringing in 40 new vendors this year, filling up City Park and expanding children's activities. And Art on the Green is all set for another year of being the best and largest community celebration of the arts in the Inland Northwest.

It all happens starting today.

The festivals stretch from the North Idaho College Campus to City Park and extend all the way to Seventh Street.

Art on the Green

The 41st Art on the Green brings hundreds of visual and performing artists to the North Idaho College campus. At the event, you can browse through booths of original art created by 140 artists and craftsmen and women from near and far, tour the 114 artworks in the juried show, and be entertained nonstop by more than 30 music, dance and theatrical performances on two stages.

The event starts on Friday at noon and runs from 10 a.m. into the evening on Saturday, continuing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The art exhibition booths contain a wide range of art products, including pottery, paintings, wood, cloth, glass, jewelry, leather, photography and other unique art forms. All told, 140 artists from 11 states are represented, with 43 percent coming from Washington, 21 percent from Idaho, 14 percent from Oregon, and 9 percent from Montana.

The Juried Art Show is Art on the Green's "outdoor gallery," where paintings, photographs and a variety of hand-crafted, three-dimensional items are displayed and sold. There are 114 works of art exhibited. Judging will take place on Friday morning, and more than $5,000 will be awarded to the winning artists in the various categories. In addition, three community recipients have been selected to choose artworks from the show, with a total value of up to $3,000. These items will be put on permanent display as gifts to the community from Art on the Green. This year's recipients are Kootenai Medical Center for the Community Purchase Award; Canfield Middle School for the Brooten Award; and the North Idaho College permanent art collect for the President's Award.

When you get hungry, enjoy fine cuisine without leaving the campus. More than 500 volunteers assist in the preparation and serving of the food found at Art on the Green. Food booths include sausage, roast beef, corn on the cob, grilled chicken or salmon, stir fry veggies, popcorn, ice cream, sno-cones and espresso. New for this year will be a cotton candy booth. The proceeds of these sales go directly to support the Festival, and other artistic and educational projects of the Citizens Council for the Arts.

Be sure to bring your children when you come to the event, because children of any age will enjoy a "hands on" art experience in an area set up just for them near the south stage. Best of all, there's no admission.

If you love art but think you can't afford what you'll see at Art on the Green, visit the Clothesline area for art priced from $5 to $60. The Clothesline area affords the opportunity for buyers to discover a "treasure," start their art collection economically, and buy art as gifts.

The Downtown Street Fair

The Downtown Street Fair stretches from the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Northwest Boulevard all the way to Seventh and Sherman avenues. This year, the booths are sold out.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

There are a total of 250 booths. More than 70 downtown merchants are coming out, including some great galleries - Devin Galleries, Art Spirit Galleries, the Painters Chair, and Steven Scroggins Fine Art, according to Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association events coordinator Gay Glasson.

"I have more downtown merchants this year coming out than I've ever had before," Glasson said.

The street fair has a huge variety of items, she said.

Among the more unusual offerings are "performing vendors." Christmas at the Lake will have a wood carver on site and one booth will have "pirates."

"It's really turning into more of a street fair festival type thing," Glasson said.

The vendors come from all over. There are locals who bring their homemade wares, and artists, sunglasses vendors, and more from outside the area - one man is even bringing bonsai trees this year.

The variety and activities are part of what makes the festival great, Glasson said.

"What other weekend in Coeur d'Alene can you see so much amazing art, so much entertainment?" she asked.

When you want to go to another of the festivals, catch a free shuttle ride starting at 11 a.m. and running every half hour.

The shuttles stop downtown, at Third and Fourth, in the Fourth Street parking lot, and at Memorial Field and North Idaho College. The drivers are wonderful, Glasson said. They've been known to offer help when needed and to stop for people who flag them down on a hot day, she said.

Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes

Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes takes over City Park today through Sunday, bridging the Downtown Street Fair and Art on the Green.

There will be 110 crafts booths and 26 food vendors at the Taste, organized again this year by the Kiwanis Club of the Idaho Panhandle.

Among the vendors at the 23-year-old event are 40 new ones, according to Panhandle Kiwanis president Sarah McCracken.

"We actually got a lot of new ones this year, and we really tried to focus on local vendors," she said.

"It's going to be something different."

In addition to vendors selling wares and crafts ranging from metal works to foods to photography and numerous other kinds of items, there are food vendors specializing in all kinds of food. Of course, music in the Lakeside Bandshell will entertain all weekend long.

New this year is an expanded children's area, located next to the information booth under the gazebo and open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

It was so popular last year that the club really ramped it up, McCracken explained. This year brings face painting, balloons, and a pirate theme with help from the Lake City Playhouse. There's even a "pirate school."

"It's just going to be really fun," she said.

All of the money raised through Taste goes back into the community, McCracken said.

The Kiwanis Club focuses on children and youth and has most recently contributed to the Cherry Hill and Bluegrass parks disc golf courses and Fort Sherman Playground, among other projects. The club also gives scholarships, has a student of the month program and more.

Music in the bandshell

Friday, July 30

10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. The Plastic Saints — easy listening rock n’ roll

1:30-4:30 p.m. All that Jazz — swing era classics

5:30-8:30 p.m. 5 Mor — smooth jazz, light rock

Saturday, July 31

10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Jim Tilden Brown — boogie woodie blues

1:30-4:30 p.m. Bluegrass Union — bluegrass

5:30-8:30 p.m. Healthy Scratches — rock n’ roll

Sunday, Aug. 1

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Barry Aiken & Northpoint — Latin Rhythms, pop hits, originals

3-6 p.m. Steven King Ensemble — swing, jazz, pop hits