Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is a popular tourist destination year-round. It’s also my home town. If you’re planning to visit here, you can find plenty to do during any part of the season. There’s Downtown CDA’s Sherman Avenue, Tubbs’ Hill, and the boardwalk, as well as camping, hiking, and plenty of other outdoor activities. I’ll try to walk you through some lesser known places to visit over the next few blog posts.
There are several big events in Coeur d’Alene throughout the summer that could be worth planning your entire visit around. So I’ll walk you through these events and when they happen to help you plan your trip here.
Car d’Alene
The Car d’Alene is, for one, a great pun. It’s also one of the more popular events in Coeur d’Alene that people come to from all over the place to show off their cars. Among my immediate family it’s always been a big deal since my dad has been a mechanic since well before I was born.
When, Where, and What is it?
The Car d’Alene is a big parade and street fair that happens every year during Father’s Day weekend. Sherman Avenue gets closed down for the event, which also makes it easy to access all the stores and businesses along that street. It’s all right on the lake, in front of the Coeur d’Alene resort.
The parade happens the night before the main event, when all the vehicles that will be in the show the next day drive through Downtown CDA. I’ve actually been in it a few times when my dad drives something through the parade.
The Car d’Alene is also a free event, so you don’t have to worry about any costs to attend unless you plan to buy food or other amenities while you’re there.
What is it Like?
I remember a long time ago, probably when I was in elementary school, my dad made a replica of the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard. We drove it through the parade but it kept running into problems because there was a lot of starting and stopping and slow driving during the parade which the car’s engine had trouble with.
Now, and for the past several years, my dad has entered the same vehicle into the event almost every year. He took a Ford Cab-over-Engine and made some special modifications to it. This includes shortening the roof slightly, making it drive on the right side, and the most obvious change, gigantic tires from a tank hauler. I’ve ridden in the back of it several times while going through the parade and it’s a great experience. It used to have a train horn in it, but my dad took it out so he wouldn’t make people go deaf.
We always go to the car show itself the next day, often bringing the COE with us and parking it somewhere to show it off. I remember sitting in the back of the truck while it was parked and reading a book to pass the time after we walked around to look at all the vehicles on display. Cars aren’t a huge interest of mine but they have still played a big part in my life, and I have a ton of memories from Car d’Alene. Why not go make some of your own?
Art on the Green
If you ask anyone about the most popular events in Coeur d’Alene, you’ll definitely hear about this one. I just went this past weekend. I can’t say I’ve gone there every year (especially when I was in college on the other side of the state) but I try to go whenever I can. It’s a giant event, and people come from as far as Vegas and SoCal to display their art.
When, Where, and What is it?
Art on the Green is located near (and partly in) Downtown Coeur d’Alene. The main event is on the North Idaho College campus, but it extends all the way to Sherman Park and turns into a large street fair/ street market going across Sherman Avenue (in the same area where Car d’Alene is held).
Art on the Green happens on the first weekend of August every year. It runs for three days, from Friday to Sunday. If you’re headed this way and want to attend, just make sure to check their website so you know when the event is happening!
Art on the Green is a big event every year. It’s a chance for artists, both local and not, to show off their creations and sell them. There’s live music, food, and so much more! If you do plan on going, know that you don’t have to buy anything. I don’t know that I ever have, but my parents bought something just this last weekend. I usually go and treat it like an art gallery. People make some amazing things, and you can find everything there. Woodworkers, painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, leatherworkers, and many more I can’t think of can be found there.
There’s always an art competition happening, and you can go through the stand to see everything on display. Also, if you have kids, some of the musical performances are geared towards children. There’s a kid’s section at the event where they can make art with clay, carve gourds, decorate shirts, and so much more. The options change a bit every year.
Art on the Green isn’t just a for-profit event, either. It’s free to attend and all of the money made by the event coordinators is donated to art programs for local schools. They’ve contributed a lot to it over the years.
What’s it Like?
Art on the Green is one of my favorite events in Coeur d’Alene. I go through the main art walk, out towards the park for the extra displays, and all the way down the street fair on Sherman Avenue. There’s a great variety of stuff to see. From this year’s event, people made amazing artwork out of copper by burnishing it, carving it, and I don’t even know what else. Another stand had these intricate fake bonsai trees made out of various colors of wire. That might not sound that cool, and I didn’t get any pictures, but the amount of work that went into making them is immediately clear.
Everywhere you go at Art on the Green, there’s something new to experience. There’s live performances in two different places: the NIC Campus and Sherman Park, and people performing along the street fair. All kinds of snacks, some good food, and Kettle Corn, of course. I got some delicious BBQ nachos from a truck belonging to a local business called Smokin Glory BBQ.
One of my favorite parts of the event, though, that I make sure to check out whenever I go, is the giant sandcastle.
Don’t worry, if you’re at Art on the Green, it’s hard to miss this. The castle is 14 feet tall, and these pictures don’t do justice to how truly intricate the artwork is.
This thing is made with 26 tons of sand and takes 40+ hours of work. When I was there taking pictures, there was someone spraying it down with water to make sure it kept its structure. The guy who makes them, Scott Dalson, has been making sandcastles like this for 40 years and constructing them at Art on the Green for 26.
He uses a different style every year for his sandcastles. This year he did a “Medieval 14th century” style.
The North Idaho State Fair
Of all the events in Coeur d’Alene during the summer, this is arguably the biggest. Everyone comes together to show off their best work throughout the past year, sell livestock and win awards.
There are county fairs all over the country. I can’t argue that this fair is particularly unique, especially when I haven’t really been to other fairs. But it’s special to me because it always happens around my birthday.
This year it runs for a week, ending on August 25th, the day before my birthday. If you happen to be in the area while it’s going on, it’s definitely worth checking out. And if you really want to see what it’s like, then consider traveling this way while the fair is ongoing!
As a kid, we would always go to the fair on my birthday. I loved going to the different animal pens to see the goats, rabbits, and other livestock people were showing. There were a lot of special rooms set up with fun things to see and do as well, since it’s a family event. I always went to the kids’ area to play around for a while. There’s also rides, if you’re into that. Over time they’ve added a lot of new things to the fair, and the fairgrounds are massive, so there’s always room to add more.
The fair is an event you’ll have to pay to get into, so keep that in mind.