The annual Canterbury Art Show returns to St. George’s Church this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Works by painter Lee Jamieson, including one below, are included. (Above photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge.)

Returning to St. George’s by the River Episcopal Church in Rumson for the fourth consecutive year — and making its sophomore stand on Labor Day weekend — the annual Canterbury Art Show… a Tapestry of the Arts event commandeers the historic landmark house of worship for a three day event that’s become something of a best-kept secret among locals, and a harbinger of the season beyond the beach-traffic throngs.

Previewing with a Thursday evening artists’ reception and opening its doors from Friday morning,  the exhibition and sale of juried and non-juried artwork boasts more than 500 entries in a wide range of media by artists from all over the region.

As usual, all proceeds from the show benefit St. George’s-by-the-River and its Outreach Grants to more than 30 local agencies serving the needy of Monmouth and Ocean counties — a list that includes Lunch Break, Family Promise, HABcore, FoodBank, and more.

During Thursday evening’s artists’ reception, awards for Best in Show, Excellence and Honorable Mention will be presented to works that were among the 85 pieces selected by judges as “best of the best” — an elite roster that includes veteran participants as well as first-timers like Spring Lake-based painter Lee Jamieson. A member of Shrewsbury’s Guild of Creative Art — and a versatile visionary who’s been equally at ease with watercolors, oils and pastels — the artist has studied at various times with Scott Nickerson of Shrewsbury, the late Pat Lafferty of Rumson, and the internationally known Mario Cooper of New York City.

“While I began painting later in life, it was not with the idea that it would be a hobby,” explains the gallery-exhibited veteran of the Plein Air Painters of the New Jersey Coast. “I was determined to make it my life’s work.”

Event times for Canterbury Art Show…a Tapestry of the Arts are Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 4 pm. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the event website or at the door each day. Daytime show tickets are $10 each, and are good for all days of the show. Tickets to Thursday’s 7-9 pm reception are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. The reception includes wine, beer, hors d’oeuvres and dessert, and the purchase of a reception ticket provides the purchaser with free entry to the show every day.

For more information on the 2015 event, email canterbury@stgeorgesrumson.org or call Beth Sherrard at (732)383-7465 or Denise Weiner (732)471-8512.