"Hey there, you want to see a good card trick?"

Fingers moving fluidly, Jonathan Docter shuffled a deck of blank cards as a young man gravitated to the magic tricks booth.

"Watch, I'm going to print the cards right in front of you," Docter said with a grin.

The cards zipped in and out of his fingers - first blank, then suddenly printed with jokers, aces and all the suits.

He shuffled again. Back to blank.

The crowd applauded.

"I know how to demonstrate every magic trick here," Docter bragged, waving at the spread of trick cards, toys and mustaches from Uncle Stinky's Magic and Novelties store in Seattle. "I love to watch the surprises on people's faces as they see magic happen."

It's that time of year again.

A drizzly Friday morning couldn't keep crowds away from the wares and novelties displayed at the 19th annual Coeur d'Alene Downtown Street Fair, coinciding with the 23rd Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes and the 42nd Art on the Green.

Once the sun peeked out early afternoon on Friday, crowds were jostling through the hundreds of booths boasting emu oil, palm reading, sun dresses, hand-made jewelry and more.

"How are you ladies today? Would you like some coupons for the store?" cooed Wendy Young, owner of Skin Deep, as shoppers stopped for a gander.

The fair helps Young get the word out on her cosmetics and skin care shop that opened a month ago in The Resort Plaza Shops, she said.

Her booth was already attracting folks who pointed at the purses, cosmetics and pink water bottles reading "I'm Too Pretty to Sweat."

"We're hoping to bring local people back in the wintertime," Young said.

Joel Evans, sales rep for Better Body Fitness in Spokane, wove through the crowd on his company's invention, the Eliptigo, a half elliptical, half bicycle.

A line was already forming for test drives.

"Everyone wants to ride on it," Evans said of the $2,200 machine. "Basically it's no impact, not like running or walking that grinds on the knees and hips. You still have the benefit of being outside and enjoying the day, but you're also getting good exercise."

Linda Gerberg of Missoula modeled sunglasses as she shopped with her friend Mary Jean Ranberg from Portland.

The high school and college friends have met in Coeur d'Alene every year for the past decade to attend the weekend events, Gerberg said.

"Friendly vendors. That's what makes it," said Gerberg, 60, with a grin. "I just bought a jacket from recycled Styrofoam, and the lady literally fit it on me."

Ranberg said she's impressed by all the green products, like jewelry and clothes from recycled materials.

"Everything," she said of what appeals to her most.

Tammy and Sheri Palaniuk oohed at silver jewelry their Sandpoint friend Christine Denova had bought at the Lucky Monkey Trading Company.

"It looks really cute," said Sheri, who comes with Tammy from Bonner County to the street fair every year.

It's worth the drive, Tammy said.

"Just the food, the vendors. There's so much to choose from," she said. "You can make it a day-long thing if you want to, or just do part."

Tantalizing aromas drifted from food booths scattered around the street fair and Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes. Booths offered cheese steaks, kettle corn, funnel cakes, smoothies and more.

The day was just picking up for 12-year-old Danielle Grimmer's sherbet stand.

Her second year at the fair, she said the fruity treat is a popular alternative to less healthy desserts.

"Instead of ice cream, you can get something all natural," she said. "It's hot, people want something cool and sweet."

Although her parents, Nicole and Craig, kept watch in the back of the booth, the business is in Danielle's hands, Craig said.

"It was all her idea," he said of selling the sherbet the family picks up from Costco.

Folks meandering through Art on the Green on the North Idaho Campus and City Park stopped to peer at items like copper art, flower collages, photographs and hand-crafted jewelry.

Dennis Brady waved in folks to check out his framed art, called "fractals."

Blasting color, the patterns resembled a cross between tie-dye and close-ups of the Milky Way.

"Fractals are a mathematical term. I write mathematical equations that create shapes," explained Brady, a Sandpoint artist and self-declared geek. "They're so unique. There's nowhere else you can get something like this."

Kids drifted toward Kim Johnson's booth of marshmallow shooters and ping pong guns.

"All your weapon needs," she said with a laugh.

In the seven years she has driven from Portland to set up at the Coeur d'Alene fair, she has had success selling the wood toys she makes herself, she said.

"My father used to be a carpenter. He taught me to play with the power tools," she said. "We have really good luck (selling these). People are kids at heart."

The three festivals stretch along downtown Sherman Avenue to the North Idaho College campus and City Park. The events run from 10 a.m. into the evening today, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.