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THERE'S A REAL PARTY atmosphere around the National Black Arts Festival this year. And no wonder: This celebration of African-American arts turns 20 this year. Not quite old enough to sip a glass of bubbly, but that's not stopping them. On the calendar is everything from a late-night Latin dance party at the High Museum of Art to the Hot Ice International Summer Soul Funk Fest at Center Stage.

Sound like fun?

AJC ARCHIVE (ENLARGE)
Wynton Marsalis and his trio will team with the Atlanta Symphony to perform orchestral arrangements of jazz standards on July 19.
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Here are some highlights from the 10-day festival, which takes place at various locations around Atlanta.

• Legends Celebration: An Evening with Gladys Knight. A Georgia peach by birth, Knight began her career as Gladys Knight and the Pips, which included her brother "Bubba" and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest. After the Pips retired in 1988, Knight carried on as a solo act. Her biggest hits include: "If I Were Your Woman" and "Midnight Train to Georgia." July 18. 8 p.m. Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. $20-$76. Tickets available at Ticketmaster outlets and ticketmaster.com, or by calling 404-249-6400. More information at www.nbaf.org.

• Jazz at the High NBAF Edition & Latin Dance Party. Billed as an "all night jam session," the show will include jazz pianist Tyrone Jackson, who will perform a mix of classic and contemporary jazz from 5 to 10 p.m., followed by Afro-Cuban jazz band Rio Negro, playing from 10 to midnight. In between sets, you can check out the two big exhibits at the High: "Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968" and "After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy." July 18, 5 p.m. to midnight. High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, www.high.org/experience/events/jazz.aspx. $18 adult general admission. Free for members.

• Hot Ice Live Summer Soul Funk Fest & International Groove Lounge. This event brings together local and international musicians and DJs who collaborate on live soul, house, Latin, Afrobeat, jazz and more. Proceeds benefit the Kenneth A. Batie Memorial Fund. (Batie worked at Clark Atlanta University's popular jazz station WCLK-FM until he died in a car accident last year, leaving behind a wife and infant twins.) July 19. Doors open at 7 p.m. Center Stage, 1079 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta. 678-898-5496. www.centerstage-atlanta.com. Tickets $25 in advance at the box office or from Ticketmaster.

• NBAF Gala & ASO With Wynton Marsalis. The renowned composer-musician originally had timed the world premiere of his "American Symphony," his first all-orchestral work, played by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, during NBAF. That has been postponed until Nov. 6, during the ASO's main 2008-09 season. Instead, Marsalis will fill the resulting hole in the NBAF calendar by performing with his jazz trio in orchestral arrangements of jazz standards. Not as exciting, but still, Marsalis is a living legend. July 19, 7 p.m. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. $20. For tickets call 404-733-5000 or go to www.atlantasymphony.org.

• Dance! A Tribute to Judith Jamison. Dancers from three companies — Urban Bush Women, Evidence and Jamison's own Alvin Ailey — come together to celebrate Jamison's legacy as artistic director of Alvin Ailey. July 19 at 2 p.m. and July 20 at 3 p.m. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W., Atlanta. Tickets available at www.nbaf.org or by calling the Woodruff Arts Center at 404-733-5000 or in person at the Woodruff box office, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta.

• Embrace Fine Arts Fair. A unique gathering of the country's top art galleries, displaying and selling works by such modern masters as Benny Andrews and Romare Bearden as well as contemporaries such as Carrie Mae Weems, Amalia Amaki, Atlanta's own Radcliffe Bailey and emerging stars such as Atlantan Fahamou Pecou. July 17-20. Mason Murer Fine Art, 199 Armour Drive, Atlanta. Times vary. Day pass $10, available at the door. Preview party $50. More information at www.embraceatl.com.

• NBAF Children's Education Village: "Destination Afrika and Beyond." This interactive journey for kids takes place at the Woodruff Arts Center, and includes an opportunity to get on stage and shake your tambourine or bang a drum. Learn to draw Timon and Pumbaa from "The Lion King" in the Disney Animation Workshop, and meet a Zulu warrior. Free on Saturday, July 19. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. More information at www.nbaf.org.

• Pan African Film Festival. The Los Angeles-based organization is back with its selections of the best movies made by filmmakers of color throughout Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and North America. The Pan African festival focuses especially on works that reinforce positive images and combat stereotypes. Last year's fest included screenings of "A Goat's Tale," the sad story of a man who moved from Ghana to England. July 18-27. Rich auditorium and Hill auditorium, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. General admission $8 per film. Three ticket passport for $20. More information at www.nbaf.org.

• "Hallelujah Street Blues." Decatur playwright Valetta Anderson premieres her newest play during NBAF, and this time it's about a subject close to home for many intown Atlantans: gentrification. Elderly Josephine just wants to sip sweet tea on her front porch, but her neighborhood is abuzz with renovators and speculators. Her adult children descend to fuss and fight over mama, while their street is threatened by a large new development. In the end, the whole family must rally or lose their beloved home. July 11-Aug. 24. Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Ave., Atlanta. (Corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues in Little Five Points.) $16.20-$32.40. Tickets: 404-584-7450. www.horizontheatre.com.

• "The Color Purple." The musical based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and film by Steven Spielberg. Oprah Winfrey presents this version of the story of Celie, who triumphs over tremendous odds to find joy in life. Score features jazz, gospel and blues. July 15-Aug. 3. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. $29.50-$125. Tickets at the Fox box office or Ticketmaster.