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

All HONK! events listed below are FREE and open to the public. This is the rough schedule of events for the weekend. More specific scheduling information will be posted as we get closer to the festival.

Pre-HONK! Brass Band Blowout in Union Square, Somerville

7:00p – 10:00p, outdoors in Union Square Plaza + 8:00p-12:00a at The Jungle

The semi-official Pre-HONK performances return to Union Square! More information here.

Hoot Pick-Up Band rehearsal

3:00p-5:00p, Dilboy VFW

Please fill out this form if you are interested in participating.

Lantern-making workshops

4:00p-6:00p, Hodgkins-Curtin Park, Holland Street between Paulina St. and Simpson Ave in Somerville

Free and open to the public. People of all ages will join Puppeteers Coop, Spontaneous Celebrations, and Extinction Rebellion to make their own lanterns, and then meet us in the park before parades step off at 6:30 pm. More info can be found here.

Lantern parades

6:30p – 7:30p, stepping off from and returning to Hodgkins-Curtin Park, Somerville

These nighttime parades are small-scale processions, leaving from and returning to Hodgkins-Curtin Park and traversing the surrounding neighborhoods. We are inviting local artists and families to bring their own illuminations, and we also invite musicians to build lanterns, wear bike lights, glow sticks, any kind of blinking-glittering-glowing ornaments you like. More info can be found here.

Friday Night in Union Square

See HONK! bands play at multiple locations in Union Square, both within walking distance!

7:00p – 10:00p, Aeronaut Brewery at 14 Tyler Street, Somerville

This venue is indoors and outdoors, and has free admission.

• 7:00p – 7:45p: Yes Ma’am Brass Band
• 7:50p – 8:35p: Clamor & Lace Noise Brigade
• 8:40p – 9:25p: Undertow Brass Band

7:00p – 9:00p, Bow Market at 1 Bow Market Way, Somerville

This venue is outdoors, open to the public and has free admission.

• 7:00p – 8:00p: Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band
• 8:00p – 9:00p: Young Fellaz Brass Band

HONK! in Davis Square

Opening ceremonies at noon in Seven Hills Park.
Bands play all afternoon from 1pm to 8pm in locations around Davis Square rain or shine. Full schedule available here.

Elm Street Interactive Area

1pm – 4pm

We’re closing Elm Street to cars and turning it into a dynamic arena for interactive art making and activism. Please join in — work with our amazing HONK! artists to create something for yourself or for the Sunday Parade. Learn about some urgent issues with the grass roots volunteers and organizers working on community issues. Help amplify messages for positive change and activist causes with art! Full details here.

The HONK! Parade

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

Full info (including parade route and street closings) can be found here.

Sunday in Harvard Square

Performances on the Main Stage and other performance venues at Oktoberfest 2pm to 6pm.
Full Sunday schedule is available here.

2:30-5:30pm Social Movement Songwriting Workshop

The HONK! Festival will host a movement songwriting workshop on Sunday October 8th in Winthrop Park. This will be a space in which musicians and activists can get together and spend some time brainstorming ideas for songs that can be part of rallies and protests organized by the many social movements that HONK! and its bands try to support. La Colaborativa’s Arts & Culture Youth Group, along with members of City Life/Vida Urbana and musicians of HONK, will facilitate the space.

Within the workshop, musicians and activists might do things like:

• Revive some older movement songs that lend themselves to a 21st century brass band treatment
• Or, experiment with spoken word lyrics over rhythmic, percussive brass band grooves
• Or it might be something totally new and different that no one has thought of yet
• Some free-form or choreographed dancing to music
• Street Theater

We know that folks will need to come late/leave early as other commitments (playing a set with your band, etc.) happen. This workshop is designed such that folks can come and go, so drop by any time!