Held on Saturday, June 23rd, and Sunday, June 24th, the annual National Capital Barbecue Battle is a two-day extravaganza of BBQ sampling, cooking demos, food vendors and live music staged along Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 9th and 14ths streets; cooker-toting warriors from all over the USA will be competing for championship titles, while NBA basketball stars lead games for kids ($10 per adult; $5 per child six–12; children ages five and under enter free; www.barbecuebattle.com).
Also this weekend is DC Caribbean Carnival, which kicks off on Saturday at 11 AM with a Caribbean-style parade (think masqueraders in colorful costumes and steel-drum bands playing calypso) along the Georgia Avenue corridor, starting at Missouri Avenue and ending up at Barry Place, where Banneker Recreation Park will be transformed into a bustling marketplace with food, crafts and entertainment (marketplace will be open on Saturday and Sunday from noon–9 PM; 202-726-2204; www.dccaribbeancarnival.com).