COEUR d'ALENE - Don't worry about that smiling man with the green beard, green hat and the white horns as he greets you at the Home and Garden Show.

Don't let that air horn he blasts bother you, either.

He just wants to get your attention.

Might as well give it to him. You might say thanks later.

"On a day like this people have to start thinking about home improvement projects," said John Hoffman, general manager of RDI Heating and Cooling. "This is what gets you going."

Sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s greeted visitors during the opening of the 40th annual event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

Hundreds arrived Friday in the first hours to see the possibilities for home projects, inside and out, this spring and summer.

Hoffman was ready with all they could want to know about furnaces, stoves, fireplaces and heat pumps.

The Home and Garden Show, he said, is a good chance to let folks know more about the Hayden company.

"It's an opportunity to meet and greet and remind them that we're here when they need us," Hoffman said.

More than 100 businesses were awaiting potential customers who stopped in at the show during its three-day that wraps up Sunday.

Companies and representatives offering landscaping services, steel siding, stoves, garage doors, blinds, gutters, dishwaters, sheds and more are on hand for the popular event expected to attract several thousand.

Prizes, advice and good deals were plentiful.

Jan Saville of Post Falls said she never misses the Home and Garden Show.

She and her husband were particularly interested in carpeting and solar shades, because they intend to spruce up their home this year.

"There's a lot of good ideas here," she said.

Saville said there was just one oversight.

"They didn't give away flowers this year, but that's OK," she said, smiling.

But they were giving away drinks of cool, crisp water at the Culligan Water booth, where Nancy Pennock was happy to explain how their water filtration systems operate, and outline the benefits of their bottled water, too.

The filtration systems start at $949 and remove minerals from the water, making it softer. That, in turn, can help clothes and appliances last longer, Pennock said.

A water cooler rents for $7.95 a month, with a 5-gallon jug of purified water delivered for $5.95. A special of four free jugs was being offered during the show.

Pennock was convinced once people tasted their water, they would thirst for it at their homes and businesses.

Across the way, Kelly Enders with North Idaho Masonry Hardscape Center stood with a practical display that featured a brick firepit and outdoor kitchen of sorts, with pavers creating a patio floor.

"We try to put ideas out there that people can actually build," Enders said.

Materials to construct a 20' by 20' outdoor paver floor base and a firepit would run about $3,000. The rest is up to the buyer.

The Home and Garden Show sponsored by the North Idaho Building Contractors Association continues 10 to 6 today and 10 to 4 Sunday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

Admission is $5, or $4 with a donation of a can of food for the food bank. Kids 12 and younger are free.