Art fans, here you go

This is no time for Mother Nature to mess with one of the region's most popular summer rituals. But what can you do besides bring an umbrella and mumble a little bit?

The show will go on today through Sunday no matter what the weather mistress stirs up. And it's not to be missed.

From hot, buttery sweet corn to stunning art and extravagant sounds of international music, visitors' senses are headed toward a stream of treats at this year's Art on the Green, Downtown Street Fair in Coeur d'Alene, and Taste of Coeur d'Alene throughout City Park. This showcase of talent, food, arts and crafts and booths bulging with retail products anchored by Art on the Green, now in its 45th year on the old Fort Sherman Grounds at North Idaho College.

Sponsored by Citizens' Council for the Arts, a nonprofit corporation of volunteers, Art on the Green is a gathering place for friends who love to indulge in aesthetics - and not spend a penny if they don't want to. All the entertainment is free. The sweet corn? That you've got to pay for.

Because the Street Fair booths can make wanderers forget that there are established storefronts behind them, this can be a sluggish weekend for the merchants who depend on summer traffic for much of their livelihood. Just a suggestion, but please keep that in mind when you're in shopping mode.

So what are you waiting for? The fun starts today at noon, come heck or high water.