ESCONDIDO - Visitors to downtown Escondido will get a chance to discover their inner artist next weekend with 16 free workshops available at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk.

Workshops of origami, photography, gift baskets, interior decorating, napkin folding, pairing wines with the right foods and more will be offered May 12 at businesses on Grand Avenue and nearby streets.

Next weekend will be the first time that the monthly event is run by the Downtown Business Association, which took over at the invitation of the previous organizer, the Escondido Arts Partnership, in order to get more downtown businesses involved, said Debra Rosen, chief executive officer of the business association.

The Art Walk on the second Saturday of each month highlights the city's numerous art galleries, which stay open late for the event. Next weekend, many galleries also will have free wine tastings as part of the newly expanded Art Walk.

More businesses will benefit from the event now that the association is involved, Rosen said Friday.

"It really enabled us to showcase the diversity of downtown," she said.

Galleries, restaurants, design studios and other downtown businesses are offering the free 30-minute workshops from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The art gallery receptions and wine tastings will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

"It's a really good opportunity to see such a diversity in art as well," Rosen said.

The workshops will be offered about once an hour, and anyone interested in signing up should call the business association at (760) 745-8877. Participants can sign up for more than one workshop.

The list of workshops and a map of their locations, as well as a list of art galleries, is available online at www.downtownescondido.com.

Rosen said that about 100 people had signed up as of Friday, but she expects 500 to 600 people to sign up by the end of next week.

Paul Rose, owner of Wild Rose Photography, 254 E. Grand Ave., is among those leading a workshop. He will teach the do's and don'ts of photography and lead a tour of his gallery to explain how the photos on display were done, he said.

"I've got a half-hour to tell everyone that comes in there everything I know about photography," Rose joked.

He said he was happy to participate in the Art Walk to get more public exposure for his business, which has been downtown for five years.

"I think the more contact (with the public) you have, the better," Rose said. The Art Walk is "putting Escondido's downtown in the public eye again."

- Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.

Workshops to be offered May 12 at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk

• Napkin folding

• Setting a formal table

• Decorating for a smaller living space

• Pairing wines with the right foods

• Creating a centerpiece

• Accenting your garden

• Paper and origami

• Scrapbooking

• Creating personal greeting cards

• Glass design/etching

• Mixed media

• Pastel and watercolor

• Better photography

• Improvisation

• Gift baskets

• Kids crafts