The streets of Crown Heights were filled with music and culture Saturday as the 50th annual Junior Carnival made its way through Brooklyn. NY1's Erin Clarke filed the following report.

It's an event that Brooklyn's large Caribbean community eagerly anticipates: Junior Carnival, a celebration similar to the main event this holiday weekend, the West Indian-American Day Parade, which is scheduled for Monday.

But Saturday was for the little ones.

"It's their day, so we, the big ones, we stand aside and we watch them play," said one parent watching Junior Carnival.

It's called playing mas: dressing up in elaborate costumes, and dancing to the sounds of steel pan drums and other Caribbean music.

"I like to dance. I like to have fun with the masqueraders," one young participant said.

"I think that it's just a lot of fun to hear the music and see the dancing," said another.

Junior Carnival, which is in its 50th year, is meant to mimic an amalgam of several different festivals that happen in the Caribbean, typically during the Catholic season of Lent. The celebration serves as a way to pass the tradition down to a new generation.

"I played Carnival when I lived in Trinidad, so I think it's important for her to embrace her culture as well," one parent said.

"I think that by teaching these kids a little bit about their past and their culture, it makes them more confident in themselves as well, and they keep it going for the next generation," another attendee said.

Junior Carnival is tradition that some participants say shouldn't be altered; this year, the city has pushed back the start of pre-parade festivities known as J'Ouvert.

"I personally don't like J'Ouvert starting at 6 a.m.," one man said. "That's not what J'Ouvert is. J'Ouvert is starting in the middle of the night."

J'Ouvert, which literally means day break, has a long history that is tied to cultural celebrations in the Caribbean. But the city was forced to make the time change after several shootings in years past, including one in 2015 that killed Carey Gabay, a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

"I understand that the cops have to do what they have to do, but we get caught in the middle, because we're not the ones acting like that," an Junior Carnival attendee said.

Still, the changes, and the unseasonably cool weather Saturday, didn't put a damper on Junior Carnival, and likely won't spoil the fun of the main parade Monday.