The 33rd annual Festival at Sandpoint arrives on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille Aug. 6-16, and this year's musical lineup is as fabulous as the view from its venue at War Memorial Field! Choose your favorite performers, then sit back under the stars and relax ... there's simply nothing quite like it! Unique to the Festival at Sandpoint is that attendees can bring a picnic basket and cooler from home, or enjoy the delicious food and beverages for sale on Festival Street.

This week's lineup includes:
- Arlo Guthrie, Thursday, Aug. 6
- Ziggy Marley, Friday, Aug. 7
- Vince Gill, Saturday, Aug. 8
- Family Concert, Sunday, Aug. 9

And the following week, the Festival continues:
- Lake Street Dive, Thursday, Aug. 13
- The Devil Makes Three and Trampled by Turtles, Friday, Aug. 14
- Wilco, Saturday, Aug. 15
- Finale with the Spokane Symphony, Sunday, Aug. 16

Get tickets and info at FestivalatSandpoint.com.

Continue your evenings at The Aftival -- a concert series downtown at The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., a newly renovated space featuring state-of-the-art acoustics. Performances follow the Festival concerts, and include funky METERS Friday, Aug. 7, Yonder Mountain String Band Saturday, Aug. 8, then Melvin Seals and JGB both Friday, Aug. 14, and Saturday, Aug. 15. More info at LivefromtheHive.com.

   Schweitzer Mountain Resort hosts their 23rd annual Fall Fest with a great line-up of bands playing over three days - Saturday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 7. Schweitzer will serve up several regional wines, hard ciders and over 60 regional micro beers on tap. Kids can partake in the soda tent, mixing their own flavors to create wild concoctions. Plus enjoy arts, crafts and food vendors throughout the village and live music playing all three days. The ever-popular souvenir mugs, glasses and steins will be on sale all weekend, as well as several other Fall Fest souvenirs.

   This is the final weekend of summer operations and the chairlift will be open for sightseeing, hiking and mountain biking. Lodging deals are happening now - plus, guests have the option of pre-purchasing their Fall Fest glassware and guaranteeing they get the items they want!

    Good thing about being in Sandpoint is that "getting away from it all" can be just 20 minutes down the road! The Mineral Point Trail is a popular hike in our area, and very close by. The 2.1-mile trail is easy, leading along forested hillsides with frequent panoramic views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Green Monarch Mountains to the east. From the parking lot and trailhead you will walk to either an overlook of Green Bay, or continue a bit more and descend the short but steep pitch to the picnic grounds at the lakeside, where you can enjoy a refreshing swim at the cobblestone beach. If you want more walking after you return back to the trailhead parking, there's an adjacent loop of about two miles around Lost Lake. These are popular trails for both hikers and mountain bikers who like singletrack riding.

    For directions and map to the trailhead, which is located near Garfiled Bay, click to the Sandpoint Online Recreation Page, or drop by the Sandpoint Chamber's office for information at 1202 Fifth Ave.

    Even though the Scenic Half Marathon is more than a month away (Sunday, Sept. 20 to be precise), lots of excitement is building for this annual trio-race event. Participants have the option to compete in a 13.1 mile Half Marathon, a 10K or a 5K; plus, this year's Half Marathon portion has a new route (click to view the new route here).

    Registration is now open; and a portion of each racer's registration fees is donated to Community Cancer Services - which supports women's health issues.