It’s a big weekend here in the CD. For one thing, forecasters say that we’ll leave the cold gray days behind and replace it with sunny days in the upper 60s and 70s. It’s about freaking time!

And that should be perfect weather for the start at noon on Friday of the 3-day Juneteenth Festival & Parade Extravaganza at Pratt Park. It’s got a little bit of everything, from singing & dancing to food, a search for a queen, and even an Obama lookalike contest. (for anyone not from the south, you can learn all about the history of Juneteenth here)

Then on Saturday morning, you’ve got your first chance to talk with developer Jim Mueller about his project on the old Deano’s property. It all starts at 9am across from the Safeway at Madison & E. Denny Way.

After checking out the Deano’s plans, bargain hunters will want to take a stroll through Capitol Hill for their community garage sale.

At noon on Saturday, walk over to 23rd anywhere between Cherry & Yesler to cheer on the Juneteenth parade. They’ll proceed down 23rd from the Garfield Community Center, ending at the site of the festivities at Pratt park.

And finally at 5pm on Saturday, political junkies might be interested in meeting and talking with former Congresswoman and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. She’ll be at Cafe Vega (conveniently across from Pratt Park) to discuss politics and the new movie American Blackout.