Art All Night, the free, evening-long celebration of the Washington arts scene, returns Saturday from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. What started in Shaw in 2011 has expanded to four additional neighborhoods across the city: Congress Heights, Dupont Circle, North Capitol and H Street NE.

Inspired by the Nuit Blanche festival in Paris, Art All Night is what founder Ariana Austin would describe as her dream night out; it’s an opportunity for the community to get exposed to local and international artists and "encounter the city in a new way," she said.



This year, guests will once again travel to the Wonder Bread Factory in Shaw for an art installation as part of Art All Night. (Photo by Dakota Fine)

Neighborhood residents and visitors can travel to participating venues in each neighborhood, where they can take in the sounds of area musicians, attend parties and fashion events and view exhibitions and live art by local artists.

The DC Circulator will be provide free bus service to participating neighborhoods. Buses will run on two routes every 10 to 15 minutes: One will stop in Dupont Circle, Shaw and North Capitol, the other H Street NE and Congress Heights. Guests are encouraged to register online.

It would be easy to feel overwhelmed with so much going on, so here are some highlights from this year’s festival:

Shaw

Travel to Warehouse Theater (645 New York Ave. NW) for an evening of spoken word, dance and music performances presented by Emergence Community Arts Collective. At 8 p.m. guests can watch a capoeira performance by the International Capoeira Angola Foundation. The festival also returns to Wonder Bread Factory (641 S St.) with an art installation of photography, mixed media, paintings and sculptures curated by No Kings Collective.

Congress Heights

The Gateway Pavilion (2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE) will be the site for a theatrical production at 8:30 p.m. “In Her Words” is a piece which reflects the voices of such figures as Lucille Clifton, Zora Neale Hurston and Nina Simone. Additional activities include a hip-hop inspired fashion show and a behind-the-scenes look into the preparations for a runway show, a mini-carnival, a tribute to Chuck Brown and more.

Dupont Circle

Take your pick of area art spaces, including Alex Gallery and Gallery A, Foundry Gallery, Hillyer Art Space and others that will be offering everything from live painting and a pop-up jewelry show to live Latin jazz and exhibitions.

H Street NE

Join DJ DrewCool and DJ Underdog for Afrobeat, a party with Nigerian and Ghanaian music, face painting and live drumming (1007 H St. NE). Washington-based Caribbean-inspired lifestyle company Cutlass & Cane Clothing Co. will be presenting a pop-up show at the Flats at Atlas, the future site of the company’s first retail outlet (1600 Maryland Ave. NE).

North Capitol

Throughout three lots -- the Main lot (15 Florida Ave. NW), the Green Lot (10 Q St. NW) and the Fairy Garden (1518 North Capitol St. NW) -- Art Soiree Productions and North Capitol Main Streets present live music by five bands, such as the electronic trio Honest Halloway, graffiti art, dance performances, food trucks and more.

Visit artallnightdc.com for a complete schedule.