Tacoma glass-art fans can catch free exhibitions, studio tours and a visiting artist at the Tacoma Art Museum starting Thursday, Oct. 15, as the regional Refract festival lands in the city.

Refract: The Seattle Glass Experience runs Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18, with 148 events spread across the Puget Sound region, according to the festival's events calendar. Several are in Tacoma.

The Tacoma Art Museum will open "Loving Cups: Glass for Thought and Use," a free exhibition of glass cups by artist Greg Lastrapes, on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. The museum will also host visiting artist Benjamin Cobb from Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 18, starting at 10 a.m. each day. Cobb's work draws on the natural world and the scientific process, South Sound magazine reported. Admission for the Cobb events is $18.

TAM is open Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday evening admission is free.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, Tacoma sculptor Weston Lambert opens his studio from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lambert works in mixed-media forms, including pocket-sized pieces and large public installations. He will be joined by Austin Stern of Sun Machine Glass, who has been blowing glass since age 14 and earned a degree in glassblowing from Emporia State University in Kansas.

"Guests will see a collection of finished glass and stone sculptures and the studio space I've curated for my specific processes," Lambert said in a Refract Seattle Instagram post promoting the tour. He said he will walk visitors through each work area. "I also plan to speak on my background as an artist and give visitors a sense of how I go about my creative process."

Also on Sunday, Hilltop Artists will host a free open studio for students and mentors starting at 10 a.m.

The festival, presented by Chihuly Garden and Glass and Visit Seattle, features more than 80 artists across the Puget Sound region. Tacoma residents can browse the full schedule at refractseattle.org.

Lambert's piece "Soliloquy VII" is also on display in "Local Frequencies," a Refract exhibition at The Space Columbia City in Seattle, for those willing to make the drive north.