SANTA BARBARA, CA.-Thirty of Santa Barbara’s professional painters, sculptors, photographers, and print-makers will hold their 4th annual Open Studios Tour, on Labor Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 3 & 4, 2005, from 11 AM to 5 PM, with a gala reception on Friday, September 2, 6 PM to 9:30 PM. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Direct Relief International. A wide variety of work will be on view, from rigorous abstraction to plein- air. Studio locations range from barns in Santa Ynez, industrial spaces downtown, and mountaintop retreats in Montecito.

This year, for the first time, there will be one central launching place for the tour and reception at the Adderley School for the Performing Arts, 319B Anacapa Street. A piece of each participating artist’s work will be displayed. Visitors can buy their tickets, choose the studios they most want to visit, consult the map provided and then look for the yellow balloons marking each location.

Tickets for the whole weekend, including the reception, cost $16 per adult. Children under 12 are free. Tickets will be available at the reception or on the days of the event at the Adderley Studio on Anacapa Street, where it ends at Hwy 101, or at the Visitors Center on Cabrillo Blvd. by the beach.

To preview the work of some of the participating artists online, or for more information go to . or call (805) 899-8854.