HONK! is a free, family-friendly, grassroots festival!

All HONK! events listed below are FREE and open to the public. Follow the links for each event for more info and detailed schedules.

pre-HONK! in Lowell

Pre-HONK! Pre-HONK! Brass n’ Bike Show in Lowell, MA, organized by The Party Band.

Bike ride at 5PM and concert at 7:30PM

Boycott (Somerville, MA), Yes Ma’am Brass Band (Austin, TX), Filthy FemCorps (Seattle, WA) The Party Band (Lowell, MA), and Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA). Full details here.

Lantern Making Workshops

4pm – 6pm at Hodgkins Park near Davis Square

Kids, parents, neighbors, and friends are all invited to make homemade, DIY lanterns in preparation for the evening Lantern Parades around Davis Square. Full info can be found here.

Lantern Parades

7:00pm – 8:00pm, leaving from Hodgkins Park

Sidewalk processions around Davis Square accompanied by bike lights, paper lanterns, flashlights, and other forms of DIY lighting. Full info can be found here.

HONK! at the Once Ballroom and Aeronaut Brewing Company

8:30pm – midnight at Once, 8:00pm – 11:00pm at Aeronaut

Come hear some HONK! bands perform at Once (the corner of Central St and Highland Ave in Somerville) and Aeronaut Brewing Company after the lantern parades. More info and schedule here. Both shows are free admission.

HONK! in Davis Square

12pm – 9pm all around Davis Square

More than 25 activist street bands from around the world perform all day, outdoors, for free at venues around Davis Square. Opening ceremonies begin at noon. Band performances from 1pm – 9pm. Full schedule available here.

Elm Street Interactive Area

1pm – 5pm

For the first time, HONK! will host an interactive area combining art making and activism. We invite you to participate; share your vision for a better world by making imaginative sculpture or a silk-screened flag, a shield or protest poem. Support a cause or protest an issue — march with your own activist art in the Sunday HONK! Parade as part of our pop-up parade group. Full details here.

The HONK! Parade

12pm – 2pm down Mass. Ave. from Davis Square to Harvard Square

Parade from Davis Square down Mass Ave to Harvard Square to “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet”, featuring HONK! bands and community groups, from Davis Square to Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest celebration. Full info (including parade route and street closings) can be found here.

HONK! in Harvard Square & All Band Concert

2pm – 6pm all around Harvard Square

The all band concert will be held on the Main Stage of Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest. In addition, some bands will play sets on smaller stages around Harvard Square throughout the afternoon. Full schedule available here.