A year ago, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Western New York’s first major new museum in more than 100 years, opened its doors. Since then, it has held an impressive series of exhibitions featuring work by its namesake artist, Charles Burchfield, and hundreds of pieces by Western New York artists. It has also hosted countless events and lectures, delivering on its promise of serving not only as a sanctuary for art, but for the entire community.

In celebration of its auspicious first year, the Burchfield has launched a four-day celebration that began on Thursday. The event, a continuation of the “RendezBlue” festival series, features a collection of exhibitions, lectures and performances. Today at 5:30, the festival has a drop-in family workshop run by artist Barbara Murak and a concert from Buffalo band A Hotel Nourishing in the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium. That’s followed by musical performances by Free Henry!, Aqueous and Lazlo Hollyfeld.

At 8 tonight and 3:45 p. m. Sunday, Joey Giambra will deliver his original piece “Bread and Onions: The Lost Neighborhood,” a story that “focuses on several decades of Buffalo’s Lower West Side Sicilian community, captured in rhymed verse and set to jazz rhythms.”

The festival continues on Saturday with a 2 p. m. lecture from Robert Siegel of the Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, the architecture firm that designed the building. For a full schedule of events, visit www.rendezblue.org or call 878-6011. All events are free.

—Colin Dabkowski