COEUR d'ALENE - Kristin Klestinez and her husband, Joe, pushed a stroller through the booths at Art on the Green.

A hand-painted picture hung from its handlebar - a masterpiece created by their daughter Kailie, 7, at one of the children's art stations. The paint wasn't quite dry as they stopped for a moment on the lawn of the North Idaho College campus.

"We usually always come for the kids' area, because our kids love doing all the art projects," Kristin said. "We bring them every year to do the paintings and stuff."

Kristin, who grew up in Coeur d'Alene, said she has been to Art on the Green every year for the last two decades. Before having Kailie and Sophie, 4, she and Joe would go to see the sandcastles and have lunch on the grass while listening to music.

"I like the new art people are just thinking of," Joe said. "It seems like every year there's something just a little different."

"It's a really neat experience to see all kinds of different things," Kristin said.

Now, with a new generation of art lovers at their sides, Art on the Green has become an annual family outing.

"She was counting down the days until the weekend for Art on the Green," Kristin said, describing Kailie's excitement.

The splash of paintbrushes hitting paper, a whiff of sweet kettle corn and the sound of voices harmonizing as music wafted through the trees all indicated a bustling Saturday afternoon at the 46th annual Art on the Green.

More than 500 volunteers assisted thousands of people who ambled this way and that, inspecting the 170 booths that showcased a plethora of artistic, colorful, innovative and crafty creations, from watercolors to photography to pottery.

One booth belonged to 13-year-old Nicholas Olmo of Hauser, a young entrepreneur with a creative mind that can create sculptures from various old metal pieces such as tools, pulleys, bike chains, shovel blades and car parts.

"I can write whatever you want in junk," he said. "I just find that if you look at the pieces long enough, for me, they kind of just come together in ways that work ... I lay out all my pieces on the floor and just kind of tinker with them to see what fits together."

His works ranged from smaller metal spiders and scorpions to a much larger piece he welded to form the skeleton of a giant fish.

"Everyone that comes in here compliments my stuff," he said. "I like the looks on people's faces when they grab my art. They're like, 'This is so cool.'"

While visual and performing arts were everywhere at Art on the Green, the written word was not overlooked. The youth poetry wall had dozens of customized works of young poets, such as event volunteer Erin Olson, 12, of Hayden. Her poem, "Julius Caesar," was pinned to the wall and flapped in the breeze.

"I've always loved writing about the past, and I really enjoy ancient Roman times because so much of today is built off of then," she said. "I learned about him and I found his entire history so interesting that he just seemed like the guy to write a poem about."

This was her third year submitting her work to the youth poetry display.

"It makes me feel really great that I'm sharing all of this with other people because I'm really proud of what I've done, and I really love all my poems," she said. "I really like to read everyone else's poems. It just makes me feel like I'm a bigger part of the community."

Erin said she also really likes volunteering and being a part of Art on the Green.

"I just love Art on the Green," she said. "I come here all the time. It's just part of my summer."

The three-day event takes almost a year of planning and is orchestrated by the Citizens' Council for the Arts.

"It is about building community through the arts, making it a place where an artist can survive financially," said Sue Flammia of Coeur d'Alene. Flammia and Mary Lou Reed of Coeur d'Alene have been active with the council and Art on the Green for almost five decades.

"It's all about the arts," Flammia said. "I think everybody loves it because that's what it's about, bringing everyone together, you buy the art directly from the artist, which is a fabulous thing, and it's all very beautiful."

"From the very beginning, the entertainment has been a great draw," Reed said.

Publicity volunteer and community partnership coordinator Jolie Bazler of Coeur d'Alene said Art on the Green is ran completely by volunteers with only two part-time paid staff members. She said the council meets in September and plans for the event all year, with "crunch time" arriving in June.

"Everybody has their job, and they love it, they're here," Flammia said. "They all show up to do their job because they love it, because it builds community. Look around here, everybody's happy. Everybody's welcome. We always kept it free so everyone could be here."

Art on the Green continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.