Art & Cultural Events List

Music Festival (free & open to all): save the date (variety of styles/activist street bands/unplugged DIY music)
September 2010 [for October 2010 event]
HONK! Festival Media Contact: Mary Curtin, 617-241-9664, 617-470-5867 (cell), marycurtin@comcast.net
[high res digital images, from HONK! Festivals past, available for download at honkfest.org/pr/ and
honkfest.org/pre-honk/; videos at honkfest.org/pictures-videos/]
Ongoing updates at www.honkfest.org and 617-383-HONK (4665).

HONK! FESTIVAL 2010

[HONK! photo by Ben Greenberg
as part of the current photo exhibition up in Davis Square]

FIFTH ANNUAL

this year featuring
[subject to revision]

~ What Cheer? Brigade (Providence, RI) ~
~ Veveritse (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ Titanium Sporkestra (Seattle, WA) ~
~ Springville All Star Marching Band (Springville, NY) ~
~ Seed and Feed Marching Abominables (Atlanta, GA) ~
~ Rude Mechanical Orchestra (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin, TX) ~
~ Leftist Marching Band (Portsmouth, NH) ~
~ Himalayas (NY, NY) ~
~ Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI) ~
~ Environmental Encroachment (Chicago, IL) ~
~ DJA-Rara (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ Detroit Party Marching Band (Detroit, MI) ~
~ Bread and Puppet Circus Band (Glover, VT) ~
~ Brass Liberation Orchestra (Oakland, CA) ~
~ Black Bear Combo (Chicago, IL) ~
~ Barrage Band Orchestra (Baltimore, MD) ~

with locals
[subject to revision]

~ AfroBrazil ~
~ AMP (Activist Music for the People) Radical Marching Band ~
~ Bahamas Junkanoo Jumpers ~
~ Dirty Water Brass Band ~
~ Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band ~
~ Expandable Brass Band ~
~ Factory Seconds ~
and
~ Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band ~

October 8-10

based
in
Davis Square, Somerville
&
Harvard Square, Cambridge

ALL
[EXCEPT FOR ONE VERY AFFORDABLE EVENT]
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL


(Somerville & Cambridge, MA) Born out of a need for street bands to celebrate their social activist side, the increasingly popular HONK! Festival is back for a 5th year with opportunities galore for participants and festival goers to enjoy themselves immensely. Rain or shine on Columbus Day weekend, October 8-10, the streets primarily in and around Davis Sq. and spilling out into Harvard Square will be teeming with bands raising a good time ruckus.

The confirmed HONK! band count is currently at 25, with one to two new ones being added weekly. But when the final count is in, this year up to 30, there’ll still be no stopping individuals who suddenly feel the need to jump in at the last minute. In today’s parlance, HONK! 2010 already has an app for that! Opportunities abound not only for festival invitees but for the spur of the moment merry maker, including a chance to play music with the October 10th impromptu “community band” made up of individual musicians, who are not affiliated with any of this year’s HONK! bands, but are interested in participating in the gigantic HONK! Parade to Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet.

Festival updates can be found at www.honkfest.org, 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:



2010 WEEKEND SCHEDULE:


Friday, October 8, 1-5 pm
HONK! In The Neighborhoods
Visiting HONK! bands will team up with their local counterparts to perform and interact at several Boston-area Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as at other non-profit venues or gatherings. At this writing the following clubs and organizations who will be participating are:
Yawkey Club of Roxbury, 115 Warren St., Roxbury; Charlestown Club, 15 Green Street, Charlestown; Blue Hill Club, 15 Talbot Ave., Dorchester; South Boston Club, 230 West Sixth Street, South Boston; Union Square Main Streets, Union Square, Somerville; Zumix, 260 Summer St., East Boston; and the Food Not Bombs gathering at Park St. on the Boston Common.
Many of these events are free and open to all.
For information: 617-383-HONK (4665), info@honkfest.org

Saturday, October 9, 12:30 pm-9 pm
HONK! On Davis Square
Up to 30 activist street bands, from near and far, will perform outdoors for free. An Opening Ceremony to be held at 12:30 pm in 7 Hills Park, Davis Square, Somerville. At this writing the following bands will be participating, listed in alphabetical order: AfroBrazil, AMP (Activist Music for the People) Radical Marching Band, Bahamas Junkanoo Jumpers, Barrage Band Orchestra, Black Bear Combo, Brass Liberation Orchestra, Bread and Puppet Circus Band, Detroit Party Marching Band, Dirty Water Brass Band, DJA-Rara, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, Environmental Encroachment, Expandable Brass Band, Extraordinary Rendition Band, Factory Seconds, Himalayas, Leftist Marching Band, Minor Mishap Marching Band, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band, Seed and Feed Marching Abominables, Springville All Star Marching Band, Titanium Sporkestra, Veveritse, and What Cheer? Brigade.
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), info@honkfest.org

Sunday, October 10, noon-2 pm
HONK! Parade to Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet
Led by the Mayors of Somerville and Cambridge, the parade will feature 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. The parade assembles at 11 am, and the route starts in Davis Square, Somerville, at noon, making its way to Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest celebration in Cambridge. To participate in the parade or to volunteer as a parade facilitator, contact parade@honkfest.org.
[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), info@honkfest.org

Sunday, October 10, 2-6 pm
HONK! at 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, hsba@harvardsquare.com

Sunday, October 10, 8 pm-midnight
HONK! Blow-Out
Featuring all the HONK! bands, performing up to 10 minute sets each. At this writing the following bands will be participating, listed in alphabetical order: AfroBrazil, AMP (Activist Music for the People) Radical Marching Band, Bahamas Junkanoo Jumpers, Barrage Band Orchestra, Black Bear Combo, Brass Liberation Orchestra, Bread and Puppet Circus Band, Detroit Party Marching Band, Dirty Water Brass Band, DJA-Rara, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, Environmental Encroachment, Expandable Brass Band, Extraordinary Rendition Band, Factory Seconds, Himalayas, Leftist Marching Band, Minor Mishap Marching Band, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band, Seed and Feed Marching Abominables, Springville All Star Marching Band, Titanium Sporkestra, Veveritse, and What Cheer? Brigade.
Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Ticket: $10 general admission.
For tickets and information: (617) 625-5700, http://feitheatres.com/somerville-theatre/

Leading up to this year’s Columbus Day weekend events, there are several preliminary events worth noting:

Through Thursday, September 30, 2010:
HONK! Photo Exhibit
Features 7 photographers: Greg Cook, Tiffany Knight, Mark Dannenhauer, Jesse Edsell-Vetter, Benjamin Greenberg, Chris Yeager & Akos Szilvasi. Their photos are inspired by HONK! Festival 2009.
The Inside-Outside Gallery (aka the CVS windows)
CVS Pharmacy
1 Davis Square, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
Free and open to all.
For more information, photoshow@honkfest.org.

Monday, September 13, 7-8:30 pm:
We Love HONK! Volunteers Meeting
Sign-up gathering to help in all the ways that make HONK! possible. Individuals and groups interested in participating in the parade, to be held from noon-2 pm on October 10th, are also encouraged to attend. Fun is guaranteed!
Somerville Public Library (West Branch)
40 College Ave., Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
For more information, contact volunteers@honkfest.org.

Tuesday, September 21, 10 am-11 pm:
Flatbread Pizza For HONK! Benefit
All day, with a special 7:30 pm performance by the Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band. Flatbread in Somerville is donating a portion of the cost of every pizza pie purchased during the day to the HONK! Festival.
Flatbread Company
45 Day Street, Somerville
[Conveniently located near the Davis Square stop on the Red Line and several MBTA bus connections.]
For more information, contact benefit@honkfest.org.

The HONK! Festival is a good idea coming to fruition. A need had been identified, not only on the part of musicians — of a particular persuasion — who have a penchant for gathering to raise a awareness about issues that need attention. But also a need is there on the part of the audience — not necessarily of any persuasion — to bask in the glow of this unusual phenomenon.


[HONK! photo by Mark Dannenhauer
as part of the current photo exhibition up in Davis Square]


As often as bands congregate to HONK in protest, they also perform to celebrate the causes and institutions they support: multicultural festivals, peace conferences, social forums, artists’ collectives, community gardens, block parties, neighborhood fundraisers, relief benefits and homeless shelters. In every case, the HONKers’ ultimate goal is to have fun, to relish the art of making fun as a form of individual and collective transcendence, and to encourage others to see and do the same.

The HONK! Festival Committee would like to give special thanks to the following for their support of this year’s HONK! Festival: City of Somerville, the Somerville Arts Council, RESIST, Harvard Square Business Association, Davis Square businesses, and last but not least, the local Davis Square community, whose support in terms of in-kind donations of food and public services, housing for upwards of 300 musicians, and cash contributions, is vital to keeping the HONK! effort going.