By HOLLY PASZCZYNSKA

Staff Writer

This weekend up to 60,000 people are expected to flock to downtown Coeur d’Alene to experience fun, shopping, food, music and art at three of the area’s most anticipated annual events. Starting Friday and running through Sunday are the Downtown Street Fair, Taste of Coeur d’Alene, and Art on the Green.

This is the 49th year for Art on the Green, held on the campus of North Idaho College. The event features 170 artists displaying and selling their works, 15 food booths and two stages with 27 music acts beginning at noon on Friday.

This year the beer garden is expanding to offer “liquid art” for the adults. The eight local beer, wine and cider vendors will be joined by a new merchant, Bare Culture Kombucha.

The food booths are set up and run solely by volunteers, with proceeds going to fund the event and several charitable projects spearheaded by the Citizens’ Council for the Arts. Included are the Healthy Snack Shack, snow cones and frozen lemonade, stir fry, and German sausages.

“New this year will be a pulled pork sandwich, which we’re all pretty excited about,” said volunteer coordinator Jolie Balzer.

Also new this year will be a recycling effort in conjunction with NIC and Waste Management.

For the kids there will be the ever-popular face painting and airbrush temporary tattoos in the Children’s Court. There will also be a booth where young artists have the opportunity to try their hand at painting and working clay. Pinot’s Palettes, a local paint-your-own art business, will have a booth where little ones can paint a tiny canvas to take home.

“The kids get to participate and get to leave with a piece of their own artwork, so that’s kind of fun,” Balzer said.

They can also gain inspiration by browsing the four youth artist booths, where young artists will be displaying and selling their original works.

Live sculpting will be on display as an artist creates a giant sand castle, which will be a familiar sight to those who have attended in the past. There will also be a blacksmithing presentation by Columbia Fire and Iron, and many artists will be doing their own live demos at their booths.

Those attending are welcome to park their bikes at the bike corral provided by the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation. Dogs are not permitted on NIC’s campus. The event is held in a park-like setting on grass and uneven ground, so it is partially handicap accessible.

For serious shoppers, the Downtown Association’s Street Fair will offer 250 different vendors on Sherman Avenue.

“We have a good number of returning vendors with everything from tie-dye to concrete statues, and we have all our downtown businesses returning.” said Emily Boyd, event coordinator with the Downtown Association.

Mixed into the marketplace are several places to get a quick snack or a cold drink, which will be helpful with temperatures reaching in the upper 90s all weekend. A free shuttle service will carry people between the three events, so no need to worry about getting worn out with too much walking.

“There really is such a wide variety for the whole family to enjoy. From kids, to parents, to grandparents, that’s what I really love about it,” Boyd said.

At City Park the fun begins at 10 a.m. for the 30th annual Taste of Coeur d’Alene, a family-friendly festival featuring more than 100 art and craft vendors, food, music by 13 local performers, and a beer garden with about 10 different breweries to choose from.

Some local favorites to fill bellies include Caramel Kitchen, Mary Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream and Eckness Catering. There will be plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained, and music will be in abundance all weekend long at the City Park bandstand.

Taste of Coeur d’Alene is a project of the Panhandle Kiwanis and is the main fundraising event for the year, raising funds for local projects that benefit area children.

“All funds raised by the participants and sponsors of the Taste goes back to the community,” said event coordinator Roger Stewart. “What could be better than bringing your family out to the Coeur d’Alene City Park, setting up your chairs and tables, and listening to some outstanding entertainers while eating local food and craft beer…all with Lake Coeur d’Alene as the backdrop? All this family fun with no entry fee.”