COEUR d'ALENE - It's that time of year again.

That special event that comes between the patriotic Fourth of July but before the frigid temperatures that accompany the awe-inspiring lighting ceremony.

The three days that allows anyone and everyone to indulge on their artsy side, as well as their food side.

It's art, crafts, gyros and frozen lemonade for the win.

For the 43rd straight year, Art on the Green will take place in downtown Coeur d'Alene, along with A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes and the 20th annual downtown street fair.

The Downtown Street Fair

Where the street is normally occupied by cars and motorcycles, for this weekend they will be replaced by booths, vendors and people. The Downtown Street Fair is back and is hosted and sponsored by the Downtown Association. The event will take place on Sherman Avenue.

Member of the Downtown Association and event coordinator Gay Glasson said this is a weekend for the whole family.

"There is literally something for everyone," Glasson said. "It is free for everyone, there's amazing food, great entertainment and overall its just a lot of fun."

Glasson may be right about something for everyone, since this year the downtown street fair will have around 230 vendors.

Including the 230 vendors, there will be daily entertainment, delicious food and arts and crafts.

"This is a real, true street fair, where booths will create and perform right in front of you," Glasson said.

This year, the street fair will feature vendors from around the nation.

Some states that will be represented and have their state pride on the line include Colorado, Arizona, California, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Oregon, Montana, New York and of course, Idaho.

"It continues to grow and it has become such an awesome event for the community," Glasson said. "Some vendors have all their clientele come and buy their products in this one weekend."

Yet, even with the growth, the street fair will still have some of its local favorites that have made appearances over the years.

"People have their favorite vendors, and vendors call wanting the same space they had last year so their customers can easily find them again," Glasson said.

The street fair will feature everything from jewelry, photography, toys, hand woven baskets and imported items from Seattle and California.

"It's the one time to come shop and find the unusual things that would be difficult to find any other time," Glasson said. "I know people who do all of their holiday shopping at the street fair."

For information on the street fair contact Gay Glasson or the Downtown Association at (208) 415-0116.

Art on the Green

Art on the Green has been a staple in this community for 42 straight years. This year will make it 43.

Lifetime volunteer and treasurer, Mike Dodge, said its a year-long process to get everything ready for the entertainment-packed weekend.

"We look at what we did, and how we can improve it," Dodge said. "The biggest hurdle we have is booking entertainment from start to finish at both of our stages."

Dodge also acknowledged that a lot of the time goes toward filling food vendor spaces, figuring out the layout of all the booths and making security arrangements.

All in all, an event like this requires many volunteers. Something that Dodge said they never have trouble with, but are always looking to add more.

"Art on the Green has always been volunteer driven, and as of right now we have around 500 to 600 volunteers," Dodge said.

This year will be no different from years past. A lot of community favorites will be back for another year. Also, some new booths will be added, a mixture that Dodge is excited about.

"This years selection of booths at Art on the Green will really please a lot of people," Dodge said. "I'm very pleased with the set up and the selection we have."

A major draw to the Art on the Green is the free musical entertainment that it provides. Fans of all types of music will be happy since nearly every genre will be represented.

"One particular band to check out will be TAIKOPROJECT, they are a drumming group and it really should be pretty phenomenal to see," Dodge said.

What many people may not realize, is that all the money Art on the Green makes, is given right back to the people who helped support it.

The community.

"All the money that we make is injected back into the community," Dodge said. "Outside of one paid position, everyone else is an unpaid volunteer."

Art on the Green is sponsored by Citizens' Council for the Arts, a nonprofit corporation of interested volunteers formed to encourage and promote the arts.

The profit they make from the festival is donated to causes such as ArtShop, where $10,000 is used to hire artists in both visual and performing arts for a week long "art shop" prior to Art on the Green. More than 350 elementary school children attend each year.

The profits also go toward "Art-in-the-Schools." Where $10,000 is matched by all schools in the Kootenai County area who participate in the program. Area artists are selected to design and execute curriculum compatible art projects for classrooms kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Once again, Art on the Green will be held on the North Idaho College campus. A venue that Dodge thinks is absolutely perfect for the event.

"NIC could not be a more gorgeous venue for this event," Dodge said. "It is absolutely spectacular and we are fortunate that NIC allows us to use their campus for Art on the Green."

After all the preparation and booking, Art on the Green is upon us, and with how the weather has been, its the perfect time for our community to enjoy a festival like this.

"It's put on by the community for the community," Dodge said.

NIC is a tobacco-free college and prohibits the use, distribution or sale of all tobacco products on campus, including during outdoor events.

For information on Art on the Green or how to volunteer visit www.artonthegreen.org or call (208) 667-9346.

A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes

For the third year in a row, Idaho Panhandle Kiwanis Club hosts, A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes.

This is the primary fundraiser for the Idaho Panhandle Kiwanis Club, an event that takes months of preparation.

"We start in January each year, contacting new potential vendors,"said Jina Copstead, Taste Chair, and vice president of Panhandle Kiwanis.

This year will feature more than 25 food vendors and 100 craft vendors. Craft vendors, however, had to meet a particular requirement.

"Every craft booth features completely artisan, handmade pieces of art," Copstead said.

Also, all the food vendors will be different from one another - an objective that Copstead felt needed to be met.

"We try not to duplicate food items, and have a different type of food for every food vendor we offer," Copstead said. "We will have everything from Hawaiian dishes, to burgers, sausages, wild game meat and a margaritaville booth."

Overall, A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes will offer 25 unique and flavor-filled vendors.

"We have been trying to include more local food vendors and this year about 80 percent of the food vendors will be local," Copstead said.

In addition to the variety of food and booth options, there will be professional musicians and musical groups playing throughout the day. Visitors can enjoy the sounds of the professional music at the City Park Bandstand.

Around the bandstand there will be plenty of benches and large areas of grass to relax and listen to the entertaining music.

If you're looking for something for the children to enjoy, and art work and music isn't their thing, this year A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes will have a rock-climbing wall. It will be the perfect opportunity for them to work off all that excess energy kids always possess.

"Any direction you turn, there is something for you to do and see," Copstead said. "So, bring everyone!"

For information on A Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes call (208) 651-0999 or email them at panhandlekiwanis@gmail.com.

In order to make it easier for the community to enjoy all three events throughout the entire weekend, a free bike storage will be offered, hosted by the North Idaho Centennial Trail. It will be open during the hours of Art on the Green and will be located at the main entrance.

Another free service that will help people get around all three events is the bus shuttle service, CityLink, that goes from the west side of the NIC campus to downtown. To catch the bus downtown to head to the west side of the NIC campus, you can reach it at either Third and Sherman or Fourth and Sherman.