The Long Beach Open Studio Tours, a free citywide event in which local artists throw open their doors and invite you into their workspaces returns the first weekend of October.

Over 60 artists are participating during this year’s event, marking the occasion as one of the largest since the tours began in 2009. The public can tour the workspaces of painters, sculptors, woodworkers, photographers, jewelry designers, printmakers and more. To see the complete list of featured artists, click here.

If you’ve never participated in the event, all you need to know is that each weekend throughout the month of October artist studios in designated parts of the city will be open for you to tour at your own pace. You can also meet the artists and shop some of their art if so inclined.

The first weekend, Oct. 1-2, features artists in the Uptown area of Long Beach, which encompasses Bixby Knolls and North Long Beach, respectively. On Oct. 8-9 the public can check out art studios in the Downtown area. Belmont Shore studios will open Oct. 15-16. The event will finish with artists in the Eastside on Oct. 22-23. For more info and a map of all studio locations, you can visit the website here.

Last year marked a change of leadership in the Long Beach Open Studio Tours. Artists Javier and Cherie Sola, who have participated in the show for years, agreed to take up the mantle from artists Lisa Wibroe and Tina Burnight who launched the event 13 years ago.

Javier and Cherie said they are delighted to continue the tradition and further bolster the arts scene and its relationship with the community.

Long Beach Open Studio Tours is free and open to the public. For more information visit the website, here.

Editors Note: This article has been updated to correct an error reflecting the Long Beach Open Studio Tours and the Mid-City Studio Tours, which are two separate entities.