Eating barbecue, carrying flags, shaking hands and asking for votes. The major Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are taking advantage of the long Independence Day weekend to campaign in the early states.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, will be spending the Fourth of July in New Hampshire. Clinton will march in parades celebrating the holiday while also trying to stave off rival Bernie Sanders' rise in Granite State polls.

Clinton participated in grassroots organizing events in Hanover on Friday, according to her staff, before heading to Glen on Saturday morning to talk about her plans to help American families "get ahead and stay ahead." Later in the day she will march in the annual Gorham Fourth of July parade, along with local supporters and area Democrats.

Many Republican presidential candidates will also descend on the state. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham are all expected to head to New Hampshire as well to participate in parades while campaigning in the early primary state.

Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, another candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, will head to New Hampshire to march in Fourth of July parades in both Amherst and Merrimack. His campaign has yet to release any further details of the visit.

Rather than spending the Fourth of July marching in Vermont Independence Day parades, as he usually does, Bernie Sanders will spend the holiday weekend campaigning in Iowa.

On Friday, he started with a town hall breakfast meeting in Sheldon, followed by another town hall in Storm Lake. The self-proclaimed socialist senator from Vermont also marched in a "3rd of July Parade" in Denison, followed by yet another town hall.

On Saturday, Sanders will attempt to expand his popularity in the early caucus state by parade hopping in small towns. He will start out in the 7,800 person town on Creston, then driving an hour to Waukee for an early afternoon shindig.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will also be spending the Fourth of July weekend in Iowa. He will tout his climate change agenda. Since announcing, O'Malley has called for America to be 100 percent powered by renewable fuels by 2050.

On Saturday, O'Malley will walk with his team in the Independence, Iowa, parade, before attending two barbecues in the afternoon, one in Dubuque and then one in Clinton.

One candidate will be spending the holiday more like the voters. Jim Webb has no plans to travel to the early primary states and will instead spend the Fourth of July at home with his family. Webb just announced for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday.