HONK! Code of Conduct

We expect everyone at HONK! to be mindful of their words and actions, remembering we live in a world filled with social and institutional oppression that we don’t want to reproduce within our own community, whether in the form of harassment, discrimination, or just a bad taste left in someone’s mouth after a disrespectful exchange.

We also acknowledge that many of us come from different cultural backgrounds, and that we have different understandings in our own communities about what types of interactions are inclusive, or problematic. With that in mind, we offer the following guidelines for those who come to the festival.

What to do

Here are some guidelines for how we can interact with each other in a way that creates safe space, especially for folks coming from oppressed and marginalized communities and identities:

• Ask for clear, verbal consent – Any physical contact with other people at the festival should come after consent has been stated by all people involved.
• Be honest – Please be honest with those around you, and please feel you can be honest and open with the HONK! Festival committee; we are here for you!
• Be respectful – Whether being mindful of neighbors with respect to playing music late, or respecting someone’s personal boundaries for social interaction, it’s important to show others that you care about their well-being too.
• Exercise good judgment when consuming alcohol and other mind-altering substances – make sure that you are taking care of each other, and consuming in moderation.
• Allow our assumptions to be wrong – it’s likely that we will make assumptions about each other’s gender identities, sexual identities, and/or cultural history. It’s important not to allow our assumptions to define how we talk/don’t talk with each other, and to ask questions of each other instead.

What to avoid

Below, we outlined behaviors that are unacceptable within the festival. Folks who engage in these behaviors can and will be asked to leave the festival. If you see something happening that falls into one of these categories, or appears to be putting the values of HONK! at risk in any way, please let someone on the HONK! Committee know (or have someone tell us on your behalf) as soon as possible so that we can help to make things right. If you can’t find a HONK! committee member in person, please leave a message on our group phone 617-383-HONK (4665) or send us email at and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

• Playing music too loudly late at night or in residential neighborhoods outside of HONK! planned events
• Cat-calling
• Drinking outside the DFW
• Offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, age, race, or religion.
• Threats of violence
• Stalking or following
• Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.

We want HONK! to be an inclusive space for those participating in the festival in all ways, especially for folks who come from marginalized backgrounds and identities. We know you value this festival as much as we do and will show good judgment so it can continue to bloom here in our community.

We also support We Have Voice’s Code of Conduct, and strive to embody its values within our own festival.