A Big Honking Deal

Honk!
Friday, October 5, through Sunday, October 7
Honk!'s official site
The full Honk! schedule

Despite the festival's name, Honk! is about more than making noise. Street bands will be performing, but the purpose of the second annual Honk! celebration is to "Reclaim the Street for Horns, Bikes, and Feet!"

Honk! is a sound, a lifestyle, and a movement, according to the Honk! mission statement: "Honkers have been providing a heartfelt musical antidote, a soundtrack for anti-war rallies, political mobilizations, pride parades, and joyous reclamations of public space. Every one of these bands has a unique sense of humor to complement their sound, as they mock and discredit the roots of hatred and injustice through the whimsical act of making music together. The result is a spectacle that is radical and subversive without being militant or sanctimonious." It isn't clear if Honkers are going to change the world, but Honk! performers make life a little more fun.

Honk! will start with a discussion on the "philosophy of honk" at Tufts University from 3:00 to 5:00 pm Friday afternoon, and a performance on Saturday at Davis Square. The discussion won't be a dry affair--one of the symposium speakers, Charles Keil, lists "groovology" as one of his fields and has written a book called Polka Happiness.

Saturday will be packed with performances by various street bands. You can find them playing throughout the day from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm at 7 Hills Park, Statue Park, Davis Square Plaza, Redbones, and VFW Dilboy Hall. The Bread & Puppet Circus Band and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra are among the groups.

The whole affair will culminate in a parade* on Sunday, October 7, that starts at Davis Square at 12 noon. Twenty marching bands led by none other than Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers of Car Talk fame, will honk their way down to Harvard Square. At that point, Honk! will join forces with the Harvard Square Octoberfest, and several Honk! bands will play.

*If you had plans to drive around Davis Square that weekend, just don't. You'll be happier on foot.

Images of honkin' from the official Honk! site.