Coeur d'Alene kicks off downtown party with artisans, food and fun
CAROLYN BOSTICK | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 2 weeks AGO
Cerri Noto holds up a wooden sculpture she made called Kitty Cowgirl in her vender booth at the Taste of Coeur d'Alene.
Noto uses repurposed wood from found items to create figurines in the style of primitive folk art.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press
The first day of the Downtown Coeur d’Alene Street Fair was booming as seven blocks of vendors filled Sherman Avenue.
Drewbie the Clown works on a balloon flowers for Evangeline Hanson, watched by McKay Hanson, baby EmmaLynne Hanson, Kelsie Hanson and Donna Clark. The family from Post Falls said they come to the Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair, Taste of Coeur d'Alene and Art on the Green each year.
Smoke the Band played in the Rotary Lakeside Bandshell at the Panhandle Kiwanis Taste of Coeur d'Alene Friday afternoon.
A giant sandcastle, made by "The Sandman" Scotty Dodson, attracted attention from those attending Art on the Green on Friday on NIC's campus.
Eventgoers at Taste of Coeur d'Alene take in the delightful dishes available at City Park Friday, enjoying the milder summer weather.
Audrey Hallwachs and Eleanor the poodle walk down Sherman Avenue at the Downtown Street Fair Friday afternoon.
Sarah McCormick of McCormick Jam Co. gives Cheney resident Tracy French a taste of jam as Karen Botker of Rathdrum surveys her friend's reaction at the Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair.
Jen Hall looks at glass art at the Doozy Bug artist booth at Art on the Green on Friday at NIC.
Carolyn Bostick has worked for the Coeur d’Alene Press since June 2023. She covers Shoshone County and Coeur d'Alene. Carolyn previously worked in Utica, New York at the Observer-Dispatch for almost seven years before briefly working at The Inquirer and Mirror in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Since she moved to the Pacific Northwest from upstate New York in 2021, she's performed with the Spokane Shakespeare Society for three summers. | August 2, 2025 1:09 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — Cerri Noto takes pride in giving wood a new personality when she sets out to create a new figurine.
Some of Noto’s wooden sculptures come from broomstick handles or other found wooden materials.
The distinct primitive folk art style she’s developed over the years as part of her business, Crow Feat, results in figurines like Kitty Cowgirl, which drew in passersby to take pictures at her stand at Taste of Coeur d'Alene on Friday at Coeur d'Alene City Park.
“I’ve been doing it for 35 years,” Noto said.
Panhandle Kiwanis Taste of Coeur d'Alene was one of three major events converging in Coeur d’Alene this weekend, along with the downtown street fair and Art on the Green.
At the Taste of Coeur d’Alene, eventgoers made their way through 25 food booths and 140 arts and craft vendors along with entertainment in the form of kid-centered activities, music and a beer garden.
The heat wasn’t overwhelming, but the shade quickly became a congregation spot for people to unwind, as they listened to music by Smoke the Band in the Rotary Lakeside Bandshell in City Park.
The street fair filled seven blocks of Sherman Avenue with more than 250 vendors.
One notable duo strolling among the vendors was Audrey Hallwachs and her poodle, Eleanor, who was decorated with dog-safe hair dye to create an orange spot effect.
Hallwachs said she liked to bring Eleanor out to work on her socialization and the colorful effects are often a conversation-starter.
She once even created a giraffe effect on Eleanor’s fur by trimming it and coloring it to match.
“I’m just trying to get her used to people,” Hallwachs said.
Drewbie the Clown created balloon toys for Evangeline Hanson and McKay Hanson as baby EmmaLynne Hanson, Kelsie Hanson and Donna Clark looked on.
The family from Post Falls attends the street fair, Taste of Coeur d'Alene and Art on the Green each year.
“We’re just supporting the local vendors,” Kelsie said, holding baby EmmaLynne.
Evangaline and McKay overlapped on their favorite part of the experience.
“The balloons,” Evangaline said.
McKay simply growled emphatically while brandishing his new balloon sword made by Drewbie the Clown.
At North Idaho College, Terry and Matt Klute walked around the Art on the Green booths safely brandishing blown glass flower spears to safely stow in their car before heading back to spend time at the Doozy Bug booth, with their wives, Lis and Nicole Klute.
“This is going into my garden," Lis said.
“She already has one and she’s been waiting all year to add to it,” Nicole added with a laugh.
Art on the Green is put on by the Citizens’ Council for the Arts to celebrate all things artistic. It featured an outdoor Juried Art Show, Children’s Art Garden, entertainment performing at two stages, handmade works of art for purchase, a beer garden for participants 21 and older and a food court.
Gizmo-Cd'A also invited the public to be part of a collaborative sculpture called “The Vessel of Intention” on the southeast part of the campus.
The street fair, Art on the Green and Taste of Coeur d'Alene continue today and Sunday.
If you go:
The Art on the Green/Street Fair shuttle will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Jump on at Third Street and Sherman or in front of the NIC Student Union Building. Buses arrive every 30 minutes.
The first day of the Downtown Coeur d’Alene Street Fair was booming as seven blocks of vendors filled Sherman Avenue.
Drewbie the Clown works on balloon flowers for Evangeline Hanson, watched by McKay Hanson, baby EmmaLynne Hanson, Kelsie Hanson and Donna Clark. The family from Post Falls said they come to the Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair, Taste of Coeur d'Alene and Art on the Green each year.
Smoke the Band played in the Rotary Lakeside Bandshell at the Panhandle Kiwanis Taste of Coeur d'Alene Friday afternoon.
A giant sandcastle, made by "The Sandman" Scotty Dodson, attracted attention from those attending Art on the Green on Friday on NIC's campus.
Eventgoers at Taste of Coeur d'Alene take in the delightful dishes available at City Park Friday, enjoying the milder summer weather.
Audrey Hallwachs and Eleanor the poodle walk down Sherman Avenue at the Downtown Street Fair Friday afternoon.
Sarah McCormick of McCormick Jam Co. gives Cheney resident Tracy French a taste of jam as Karen Botker of Rathdrum surveys her friend's reaction at the Downtown Coeur d'Alene Street Fair.
Jen Hall looks at glass art at the Doozy Bug artist booth at Art on the Green on Friday at NIC.ARTICLES BY CAROLYN BOSTICK
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