For the first time in more than 50 years, the Garden Club of Long Beach Island’s annual flower show will be open to the public. The free event takes place on Thursday, May 5 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies.

“When the club first formed in the 1950s, it was a public event,” said Julie Eller, who is co-chairing the event with Cindy McGrath. “But by the late ’60s, that had changed.