Follow this space weekly for listings of new exhibitions and activities of the yearlong Pittsburgh celebration of all things glass.

Today -- 6 p.m., lecture by Scott Benefield, co-founder of the New Orleans School of GlassWorks and current owner of Isola Glass on Camano Island, Wash.; and Missoula, Mont., flameworker Christopher McElroy. Pittsburgh Glass Center, Friendship (free; 412-365-2145 or www.pittsburghglasscenter.org).

Tomorrow -- 6 p.m., talks by glass artists Lindsay O'Leary and Kaley Finegan relating to their respective exhibitions "Efflorescence: The Sea After Time" and "Worlds Within Worlds." Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 6300 Fifth Ave., Shadyside (free; 412-361-0873).

Saturday -- 10 a.m., weekly glassblowing demonstration and tour, Pittsburgh Glass Center ($10, $5 children; 412-365-2145).

Saturday -- 2-5 p.m., "Haiku: 3-Hour Workshop With Tadao Arimoto," artist, furniture-maker and native of Japan who resides in Pittsburgh. Participants will tour the exhibition "Allure of Japanese Glass," write a haiku or waka poem and etch it onto glass. Pittsburgh Glass Center (fee; register at 412-365-2145, ext. 208).

Monday-Friday -- If all this immersion in glass has made you want hands-on experience, beginner classes in bead-making, fusing and slumping will be held next week at the Pittsburgh Glass Center (fee; register at 412-365-2145 or www.pittsburgh glasscenter.org).

Continuing exhibitions are listed in the Thursday Weekend Mag calendar.

--Compiled by Mary Thomas