At 50, arts fest looks great
Thomas Orgala and Ben Dodson, right, prepare the base of a sandcastle Wednesday afternoon for this weekend’s Art on The Green at North Idaho College. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Norine Cowell views Rodi Sheet Ludlum’s fabric pottery art, Friday, at Art on the Green 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
Attendees mingle around the juried art show tent at North Idaho College during the 48th Annual Art on the Green in 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
Amy Ableman-Zimmerman and Johnathan Klemm look at art at the Juried Art Show tent at Art on the Green 2017. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
David Kailey of Morgan Jade Ironworks works to forge legs of a decorative iron bowl during a live blacksmith presentation at Art on the Green 2016. (JAKE PARRISH/Press File)
Thousands of people walk on Sherman Avenue during Downtown Street Fair 2017. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
Jan Charbonneau smells the scent of a bar of soap at the Mountain Madness Soap Company booth during Downtown Street Fair 2017. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
Various colors of Oregon Wind Spinners were on display at the Downtown Street Fair in this 2017 photo. The artwork is laser cut, powder coated, and built to withstand the elements. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
COEUR d’ALENE — In the words of an Art on the Green founder, "the arts are integral to life."
"The arts are essential to our well-being," reads the program message, written by the late Sue Flammia.
"In 1968, a group of Coeur d'Alene residents decided to have more of the arts available in their community. To do this, they created an outdoor arts festival that included visual and performing arts. From this, Art on the Green evolved. The festival is the center of summer in Coeur d'Alene and, as one volunteer described it, 'Art on the Green is a work of art, greater than the sum of its parts.'"
Flammia died in December 2015, but what she and her husband, Patrick, and their colleagues created with Art on the Green continues to flourish and grow brighter every summer.
The festival celebrates its 50th anniversary when it opens at noon Friday on the North Idaho College campus.
"I have so many emotions," said Flammia's sister, Anne Solomon, who serves as treasurer of Art on the Green. "Of course I miss my sister, but I'm so proud of what she created, she and Patrick and their core of friends."
Art on the Green is a three-day event that invites people to browse and purchase the works of local and regional artists, enjoy an eclectic variety of music, grab a bite from a food vendor and introduce their kids to different creative projects.
"It's an institution in Coeur d'Alene," Solomon said. "It's for families and it's also for the artists, and for all these years it's provided free entertainment."
This year's Art on the Green will feature nearly 200 artist booths, six youth artists and 40 artists new to the festival.
"That's exciting," Solomon said. "There’s new stuff — dog apparel, all kinds of yard art and a lot of fiber artists as well as our jewelers and painters."
Four on-site classes are being offered for only $10 each, thanks to the Patrick and Sue Flammia Endowment for Art and Music: raku pottery, charcoal drawing, drawing for all ages and watercolor painting. For info, call 208-667-9346.
Also new this year is a state-of-the-art portable filtered drinking fountain and water refill station. It will be located on the south side of the festival near the newly named Children's Art Garden by Seiter Hall.
"The goal is to cut down on the use and consumption of plastic," Solomon said.
The festival, sponsored by the nonprofit Citizens' Council for the Arts, always features a juried show to encourage artists in their creative endeavors while giving them public exposure. This year's artists will have a chance to earn a piece of more than $3,000 in prize money and awards.
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe will provide a festival grounds blessing at the 11 a.m. opening Friday. Entertainment throughout the weekend includes country, jazz, rock n' roll, Latin salsa, acoustic rock, Celtic, pop rock, funk, bluegrass and much more.
Festival hours are noon to 7:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Moving beyond the green to Independence Point, festival-goers will find 250 vendors lining Sherman Avenue for the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association's 28th annual Downtown Street Fair.
"This is actually kind of a fun year," said Downtown Association events coordinator Emily Boyd. "We've had some really longtime vendors over the years we've loved having, but they have since retired, so we have about 80 new vendors that have never been in our street fair before. It’s really exiting to have some new mixed in with the longtime vendors."
The street fair will feature an assortment of hand-made products and artwork, jewelry, clothing and a character artist who will be drawing people on the spot. Returning street fair food favorites include kettle corn and corn dogs, with several other options to enjoy at the fair or take home for later.
Boyd said the Downtown Street Fair "adds to the whole weekend."
"It is something that adds a little more diversity," she said. "Art on the Green puts on such a wonderful event with their fine art. We can sprinkle in knick knacks and toys for kids. It really links the whole downtown together. Each event really complements the other by offering something unique."
A free shuttle will run every 20 minutes between Art on the Green and the street fair. It will pick up/drop off on the north side of Sherman on Third Street, the south side of Sherman on Fourth Street and at the Edminister Student Union Building on the NIC campus.
Street fair hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For info about the street fair, call 208–415-0116 or email info@cdadowntown.com. Art on the Green info: www.artonthegreencda.com