Don't miss out! Get the best events & activities in your inbox weekly...
Home > Events > Fairs & Festivals > HONK! Street Band Festival
Submit Event View Newsletter
This In-Active Profile Has Been Archived

The following profile has been archived in our database and is no longer active. Click the here to view similar profiles that are currently active and up-to-date.



HONK! Street Band Festival

Report Error
Email It
Write a Review
We have Not Yet Posted This Year's Information for This Event Yet

If new information for this event is already available for this year, please let us know.
Locations:Multiple see below
Dates:Monday, October 1, 2012 - Thursday, October 2, 2014
Hours:Hours Vary see below
In/Outdoor:Outdoor
Cost:Free
Category:Fairs & Festivals

honk street band festival photoThe HONK! Festival is a revolutionary street spectacle of activist street bands that converges in Davis Square.

There are many mostly free opportunities to experience the HONK! craze, with outdoor concerts, a massive parade and smaller processions, affordably priced indoor concerts, and a symposium, all taking place in Somerville and Cambridge neighborhoods.

There will also be plenty of chances for folks to jump in at the last minute, to cross that invisible line from audience to participant, and be actively involved in the fun-making.

The HONK! Festival is a grassroots, non-profit event. None of the bands will be earning any money for the festival. The bands are inspired to travel great distances to joyously celebrate our hard work to reclaim public space—the world over—for all people.

View the Complete Schedule of Events

Event Highlights
Festival updates can be found at www.honkfest.org, http://twitter.com/honkfest, and www.facebook.com/honkfestival, or by calling 617-383-HONK (4665). Listed below is the festival schedule as it now stands:

2012 WEEKEND SCHEDULE
(keep checking in for updates at www.honkfest.org/schedule)

Thursday, October 4, 7 pm:
Pre-HONK! Musical Showcase For Visiting HONK! Bands
Throughout Union Square, Somerville
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Friday, October 5, 3 pm-5 pm:
HONK! In The Neighborhoods
HONK! bands play for community and after-school groups.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Friday, October 5, 7 pm-9 pm:
Lantern Parades
Sidewalk HONK! processions around Davis Square, Somerville, accompanied by bike lights, paper lanterns, flashlights, and other forms of DIY lighting.
Open community lantern-making workshops from 4 pm-6 pm, held prior to the lantern parades which start and end in Hodgkins Park near Davis Square.
Free and open to all; rain or shine.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Friday, October 5, 7:30 pm-1 am:
HONK! Kick-Off
A showcase for several HONK! bands.
Johnny D’s Uptown, 17 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Ticket: $12 general admission, available at the door.
For information: 617-776-2004, www.johnnyds.com

Saturday, October 6, 12:30 pm-1 pm:
HONK! Opening Ceremonies
Held at 7 Hills Park
Davis Square, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all; rain or shine.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Saturday, October 6, 1 pm – 9 pm:
HONK! In Davis Square: The Main Event
Free Outdoor Concerts:
Thirty-four (or more!) activist street bands, current roster:
AfroBrazil, Brass Balagan, Brass Liberation Orchestra, Brass Messengers, The Bread & Puppet Theater Circus Band, Caka!ak Thunder, Carnival Band, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble, Chaotic Noise Marching Corp, Church Marching Band, Detroit Party Marching Band, Dirty Water Brass Band, DJA-Rara, EE-Environmental Encroachment, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, Expandable Brass Band, Extraordinary Rendition Band, Forward! Marching Band, Gora Gora Orkestar, Hill Stompers, Himalayas, Leftist Marching Band, Loyd Family Players, Lungs Face Feet, Minor Mishap Marching Band, Pink Puffers Brass Band, The Primate Fiasco, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band, Seed and Feed Marching Abominable, tint(A)nar, Veveritse, What Cheer? Brigade, and Young Fellaz Brass Band.

Davis Square, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all; rain or shine (nearby back-up venues in case of downpour).
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Sunday, October 7, noon – 2 pm (11 am assembly):
HONK! Parade From Davis Square To Harvard Square
HONK! Parade to “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet”:
Featuring all the HONK! bands plus the Bread & Puppet Theater, the impromptu “community band,” and many local arts and community organizations, such as Green Streets Initiative, Bikes Not Bombs, 350.org, Open Air Circus, Puppeteers Cooperative, Livable Streets, and Sprout.

Parading from Davis Square to Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest celebration; the parade assembles in Davis Square, Somerville, at 11 am, leaving Davis at 12 noon, travelling down Elm Street, then Beech Street onto Massachusetts Ave. to Harvard Square, Cambridge, to participate in Oktoberfest. Led by the Mayors of Somerville and Cambridge.

Those wishing to participate in the parade or to volunteer as a parade facilitator, contact [email protected].
[Conveniently located near the Davis, Porter, and Harvard Square stops on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all; rain or shine.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Sunday, October 7, 2:15 pm-6 pm:
HONK! Oktoberfest:
Several HONK! bands will be featured in Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest.
[Conveniently located near the Harvard Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all; rain or shine.
For information, visit www.harvardsquare.com, 617-491-3434, [email protected]

Sunday, October 7, 8 pm
HONK! All-Band Concert:
Venue to be announced
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

Monday, October 8, 10 am-2 pm:
HONK! Symposium
Workshops & Discussions
Gutman Library Harvard University, Graduate School of Education/Arts in Education Program
Appian Way, Cambridge
[Conveniently located near the Harvard Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), [email protected]

HOURS↑ top

Schedule varies - see event highlights for specifics
Friday 7:30pm - 1:00am
Saturday 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm - 8:00pm


WEBSITE↑ top

honkfest.org/

LOCATIONS↑ top

Cambridge---mapHarvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Somerville---mapVarious locations, Somerville, MA


RELATED LINKS↑ top

Info changes frequently. We cannot warrant it. Verify with HONK! Street Band Festival before making the trek. If you find an error, please report it...
Report Error
Popular Resources
Boston with Kids
Free Things to Do
Family & Kids Events
Mass RMV - DMV
Boston Birthday Parties
Boston Museums
Rose Kennedy Greenway
Boston Aquarium
Boston Massachusetts
Boston Bowling
Boston Haymarket
Boston Whale Watching