Another summertime success story

Summer is slipping away - fast.

Grab it with gusto - quick.

As we bid farewell to July, the fireworks and parade a seemingly distant memory already, here comes Art on the Green just in the nick of time. A decades-old North Idaho tradition continues with this arts and entertainment festival centered in the heart of Coeur d'Alene, with food and other fare offered for broad consumption from the eastern end of downtown westward across City Park to North Idaho College.

While cash registers will certainly be active today through Sunday, one of the things we like best is that locals don't have to pay to play. Art on the Green guarantees sensory overload: Wanderers will hear all kinds of great music while taking in stunning visuals and eventually succumbing to the scents of something sumptuous.

Do you know how hard many communities work to bring in something with a fraction of the success Art on the Green racks up every August? In the past few weeks, Press staff visited the blues festival in historic downtown Wallace and the jazz festival in beautiful downtown Ellensburg, Wash. While the entertainment value was high in both locations, the crowds were a pittance compared to Art on the Green and its peripheral venues in City Park and downtown Coeur d'Alene. We have no doubt the receipts didn't come close to stacking up, either.

So take the family out today through Sunday and thoroughly enjoy the great art, the wide variety of entertainment, and all the other goodies there to be enjoyed. Take your time. Take some art home with you. Just don't take Art on the Green for granted.