COLUMBUS (WCMH) – One of the biggest events in Columbus starts today: The Columbus Arts Festival.

The banks of the Scioto River will transform into a massive outdoor art gallery this weekend, featuring hundreds of artists and drawing thousands of spectators.

This is a place where visitors can see all kinds of work, from ceramic art to glass art, paintings to photography.

This year, a temporary art installation from two local artists joins the festival, but there are artists from all over the world featured in the festival.

“We have about 1,000 artists from across the world that apply for spaces at the arts festival,” Jami Goldstein with the Grater Columbus Arts Council said. “It’s a juried show. We select about 300 of those, a little less than 16 mediums.”

The Arts Festival begins at 11am on Friday and runs through Sunday along the Scioto Mile. Admission is free for visitors, and there are numerous parking spots in the surrounding area. Visitors can also take advantage of COTA’s CBUS shuttle for free, or COTA’s regularly scheduled bus service.