COEUR d'ALENE - For all the hip cats out there who want to boogie woogie through the weekend, the sixth annual Coeur d'Alene Blues Festival is coming to town.

"People really enjoy this event," said festival organizer Craig Heimbigner of Spokane. "It's a big one."

The weekend-long celebration at The Coeur d'Alene Resort will feature a rooftop party, several nationally and internationally renowned artists and a two-boat cruise where the boats are hooked together and a band will play on each, "so you can go back and forth and dance and drink and carry on," Heimbigner said.

As the promoter, Heimbigner said he is thrilled with the talent that will be performing, which includes Portland composer/vocalist and precision bass player Lisa Mann, who recently received three Muddy Waters Awards from the Cascade Blues Association, and winners of the 2013 International Blues Challenge Selwyn Birchwood and his band, who will be traveling from Florida to play the festival.

"He's only 30, that's a kid in the blues world," Heimbigner said of Birchwood. "And he's the real deal."

New to the festival this year are three workshops: Blues Guitar with Birchwood, Blues Mouth Harp with harp and saxophone man Charlie Butts and Acoustic Delta Blues Guitar with Inland Empire Blues Society award winner Jeff Aker.

"We just wanted to add something a little more to the event," Heimbigner said.

Friday evening will commence the festival with Northwest guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Truck Mills in Whispers Lounge from 4-6:30 p.m. It is free.

The boat cruise and dock party will follow, with boarding at 7 p.m. The boat departs at 7:30 and returns at 9:30. This will include the two boats with simultaneous entertainment provided by the Cary Fly Band and Robb Boatsman and Rampage. Following the cruise, Charlie Butts and the Filter Tips will perform in The Shops Plaza Center Court, beginning at 9 p.m. The Shops performance is free.

The Roof Top Blues Party on The Resort Terrace featuring Blues Edition begins at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The Doghouse Boyz will play Whispers Lounge from noon-3 p.m., free. At 4 p.m. Saturday, five bands will play in the convention center: Billy D and The Hoodoos, LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends, Lisa Mann, Selwyn Birchwood and Charlie Butts and the Filter Tips.

The Gospel Brunch featuring Kenny Andrews goes from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Dockside.

Tickets are $45 for entry to the cruise, five-band festival and rooftop party. The cruise alone is $20. The festival only is $28 in advance. The rooftop party is $5 or free with a festival wrist band. Workshops are free for ticketed festival-goers or $5 for anyone else. The workshops are open to all ages.

Festival info: www.cdabluesfestival.com

Ticket and room package info: www.cdaresort.com