Time to mark the calendar for the ninth annual HONK! Festival which will take place from October 10-12 throughout the neighborhoods of Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. Founded in 2006 in Davis Square by members of the Somerville-based Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band (http://www.secondlinebrassband.org), HONK! is a rousing socio-political music spectacle which features social activist street bands from all over who come together to share their different approaches to merry making while also instigating positive change in their communities.
This year several new national and international groups will be featured, as well as returning festival favorites, a few who are local and many who come from afar. The performance schedule of participating bands (27 at last count!) will be available soon after Labor Day weekend, and HONK! fans can again look forward to bopping around to rich musical mayhem and jumping right into the spectacularly large “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet” Parade.
But there is also a new development this year. HONK! 2014 will be hosting a “Day of Action” to be held specifically on Friday October 10th. The goal is to set the stage for a targeted weekend long partnership between HONK! bands and local socio-political organizations. For more info. on this new HONK! initiative, visit www.honkfest.org/2014-festival/friday-day-of-action-2014
ALL HONK! events will take place rain or shine, and will be free, open to all.
As of this writing, a few late summer/early fall activities are in place, for those who would like to get involved from the get go:
HONK! Kickstarter campaign: preliminary details can be found at www.honkfest.org/kickstarter. Individuals can donate and subscribe to receive notices by going through the HONK! website
HONK! Volunteer Appreciation Pep Rally: tentatively scheduled for the evening of September 7 at Sprout, 339R Summer St. near Davis Square, Somerville (www.thesprouts.org). More information will be available after Labor Day weekend.
For more background information on HONK!’s origins and purpose, visit http://www.honkfest.org/about/.
