COEUR d'ALENE — Larry Burchum, for the first time, played his guitar in front of a big crowd in a public place on Monday.

It was every bit as good as he hoped.

"I had a ball," the Pinehurst man said. "I had a lot of fun."

Burchum was one of almost 10 musicians who took part on opening day of the 21st annual Street Music Week on Monday.

People stopped, listened and applauded as he performed his versions of "Mr. Bojangles," "Lucky Man," and "If I had a Hammer" on a sunny afternoon.

With proceeds headed to Second Harvest food bank, Burchum said he wanted to pay it forward to recognize its good work.

"This is my way of saying thanks," he said.

This week, musicians will be playing daily from noon to 1 p.m. in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Spokane and the Garland District.

They pick a spot, set out donation buckets and crank out tunes. All they're hoping for is that passersby like what they hear and drop in a few dollars. It's estimated that each dollar provides five meals.

Since the event started two decades ago, it has raised more than $300,000 for Second Harvest, which serves North Idaho and Eastern Washington.

Steve Wyttree of Post Falls was performing in front of The Beacon at Fourth and Sherman.

The singer and songwriter recently returned from Nashville, where he recorded 12 songs. He returned to be part of Street Music Week for the second time.

"It's for charity, and I like charities," he said

Doug Clark, a retired columnist for the Spokesman-Review newspaper and a musician in the band Trailer Park Girls, started what became Street Music Week.

He recalls the first year, when he "decided to put my guitar where my mouth was and go out and be a street musician for a week."

It worked, and he raised $503 for Second Harvest.

Someone suggested he do it again the next year and invite other musicians to join him. He did, and it grew from about 10 that year to hundreds gradually coming on board.

Over the years, Grammy award-winning artists, kids and retired lawyers with musical talents have participated in Street Music Week. They sing, they hum, they toot their own horns.

Clark helped organize it in years past, but this year, all he had to do was pick up his guitar and sing, which he gladly did. It marks his 101st consecutive performance for Street Music Week.

"I’m back to picking only," he said, smiling.

Clark said Jim Lyons, an emergency room nurse, was a big part Street Music Week, playing each year. But Lyons, after playing his 95th gig for Street Music in June, died unexpectedly Nov. 26.

Lyons is missed not just for his music, but his generous spirit.

"It took a lot of the fun out of it for me," Clark said.

Jenny Wayman, Coeur d'Alene coordinator, said musicians like Lyons are what make Street Music Week special.

The event offers a chance for "a minimal expenditure of time and efforts for a huge gain for a whole bunch of people."

"It's an easier way to give back moments of pleasure in life for the musicians and the participants that listen and donate," Wayman said.

Ukelele players Dan Rodriguez, Linda Arnold and Josh Cohen, wearing Hawaiian-themed attire of aloha shirts and leis, played in front of Blackwell Gallery.

"I love that the money is going to a good cause," Arnold said. "It’s going to help people and feed people.”