A free Carnival-style festival celebrating Caribbean culture takes over Broadway in downtown Tacoma on Sunday, Aug. 16, with food, live music, dancing and a community parade.

Caribbean Queens returns for its third year, this time at Theatre Square, 917 Broadway. The street will be closed between South 9th and South 11th streets from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. as vendors, performers and artisans fill the block. The event is all ages, and most vendors are expected to accept cash or card.

Co-organizer Julie Davidson told the Tacoma News Tribune the festival will highlight the rhythm and positive energy of local Caribbean families. Davidson and co-organizer Abby Woods, owner of Trini Plate and a regular at the Proctor Farmers Market, curated what Davidson called an "almost 100% Caribbean lineup for food vendors."

That lineup is deep. Trini Plate will serve Trinidadian dishes including homemade beef patties. Trini Street Eats, a Jamaican food truck usually parked at 1750 S. Prospect St., brings jerk shrimp, goat curry and oxtail over rasta pasta. Island Vybz specializes in Kenyan pastries like coconut cake and chapati. Lisa Bites Kitchen will scoop homemade tropical fruit sorbets, while Bajan Station offers fresh-fruit ice pops in flavors like spicy watermelon, hibiscus and guava. Lydia Mendez of Little Miss Sweets rounds out the sweets with gluten-free, New York-inspired cheesecakes.

Packaged goods vendors include Hot Babe Hot Sauces, Jammin' on the One (jams and jellies from Puyallup-based owner Aisha Newchurch), Island Flava and WeBeJAMin' Bakery. A "Maker Village" features island-inspired goods: bath products from Sunflower Soul Apothecary, resort wear from Lost Luggage Vintage, African clothing from Nikkys Niche, Ghanaian beads from Tlana's Touch and original oil paintings from Merle Redd-Jones.

Between vendor visits, a DJ spins Latin tunes and live acts rotate through the stage. The Pacific Lutheran University steel drum band performs alongside Tacoma Capoeira, Cana Dulce Seattle (Costa Rican traditional dance), Las Molas Association (Panamanian dance), Cuban performer Takechi Ruiz and Rio Babes Samba from Brazil.

The day ends with an interactive parade led by Rio Babes Samba. Attendees can visit booths throughout the afternoon to build their own percussion shakers and gather sequins, beads, ribbon and tulle to assemble parade costumes. Local artist Edgar Martinez will silk-screen Caribbean Queens T-shirts on the spot.

This year's festival stands on its own after splitting from Savor Fest PNW, which ran separately in July. Davidson told the News Tribune the separation let organizers refocus on the event's island roots and expand its reach across Western Washington's diverse communities.

"There's a richness there that Tacoma and the South Sound region can do like no other," Davidson said.

Looking ahead, the organizers plan to develop smaller events throughout the year to support Caribbean small business owners and creatives, with a focus on women for whom economic barriers can block new ventures from getting off the ground.