Boston JerkFest brings the Caribbean to Ohiri Field at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston, and you’ll smell it before you see it: rows of grills working allspice-rubbed jerk chicken, with a deep roster of Caribbean restaurants and food trucks — every food vendor is required to serve at least one jerk dish. A Spice Lane of local hot sauces and specialty goods, craft vendors, and a main stage of reggae, soca, and steel drums fill out the field.

The weekend typically opens with an adults-only rum and brew tasting before the main festival day, and chef competitions — a jerk cook-off and a seafood throwdown — keep the demo stage busy. A kids’ stage with face painting and storytelling makes it an easy family outing. It’s about a ten-minute walk from the Harvard Square Red Line stop, and worth arriving hungry.