Honk Fest Parade
Submitted by editor on September 29, 2008 - 6:16pm.
Union members! Labor Activists! Troublemakers!
March with *Rand Wilson, DJ Cronin, Steve Smith, Steve Sullivan, Bill Bumpus, Urszula Masny-Latos, Jennifer Doe, Dave Reardon, Tom Iacobucci, Jim Kaplan, Bruce Fleischer, Billy Timmins* in a special "Red Bandana brigade" at this year's annual Honk Parade.
The Honk! Festival on Oct. 11 and 12 will feature more than 25 activist street marching bands in Somerville's Davis Sq. (Read more about it at www.honkfest.org.) One of the highlights of the festival is when the bands and other community groups march from Davis Sq. to Harvard Sq. on Sunday, Oct. 12 at Noon.
This year's Honk parade will premiere Boston's very own informal "Red Bandana brigade" -- a labor delegation all wearing bright red bandanas. Red bandanas were worn by miners in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain -- the largest armed uprising in American labor history -- when between 10,000 and 15,000 coal miners confronted company-paid private detectives in an effort to unionize the southwestern West Virginia mines. During the battle, coal miners wore red bandanas around their necks to identify themselves as union supporters (and not get shot!).
Everyone should bring labor banners and posters. This is an opportunity to have a great time and get labor's message out to thousands of people in Somerville and Cambridge!
If you would like to participate, please RSVP with Rand Wilson at rand@mindspring.com or call 617 803-0799.
|
1. HONK! Conference: "Politics and Festival" October 10, Friday, 12 noon to 6 pm
|
| (part of HONK! U. @ Tufts) |
| Granoff Music Center, 20 Talbot Avenue, Tufts University |
| Free Admission |
| Description: Tufts University will host the educational and entertaining HONK! Symposia on "Politics and Festival" as part of a larger HONK! education and outreach effort of workshops and demonstrations to encourage community honking. As such, the symposium is free and open to the public and anyone interested in seeing a HONK! band in his or her own neighborhood is encouraged to attend. The symposia include: |
- Noon - 2 pm: Honk BAnd Workshop 1: "Honk Praxis: Band Organization and Dynamics" - Theresa Westerdahl (Hungry March Band) & Kevin Leppmann (Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band), coordinators, with members of participating honk bands. (Fisher rehearsal room)
|
- 2 pm - 4 pm: Honk Band Workshop 2: "The Politics of Honk: Addressing Diversity and Community" - John Bell (Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band), Jamie Spector (Brass Liberation Orchestra), & Daniel Lang (Rude Mechanical Orchestra), coordinators, with members of participating honk bands. (Fisher rehearsal room)
|
- 4 pm - 6 pm: Symposium on "Politics, Festival, and the Activist Musician" with panelists NYC trumpeter & composer Frank London, composer & multi-instrumentalist Amy Denio, Tufts Professor David Guss, and moderated by music historian Reebee Garofalo. (Distler Hall)
|
|
|
2. All-Day Outdoor Music Festival: HONK! in Davis Square October 11, Saturday, 11:30 to 9 pm
|
| Davis Square, Somerville |
| Free Admission |
| Description: HONK! will occupy Davis Square for an entire day of street band festivities, including: |
- 11:30 a.m. - 12 noon: Opening Ceremonies in Seven Hills Park, with Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and other dignitaries, a performance of the What Is Honk? cantastoria, and the ritual first honk of the festival.
|
- 12 noon - 9 p.m.: All of the HONK! bands will disperse to six different locations around the square, playing two 1-hour sets each. Spectators may also encounter spontaneous parades in the square.
|
|
3. HONK! Parade: Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet October 12, Sunday, 12 noon to 2 pm
|
| From Davis Square to Harvard Square |
| Description: The "Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet!" street parade will join local community groups and performers with HONK! brass bands in a massive procession beginning at Sacco's Bowl Haven on Day Street, proceeding down Elm Street to Beech Street, and then processing down Massachusetts Avenue to Harvard Square. The parade will include all 24 brass bands and an equal number of community organizations including Cambridge Green Streets Initiative, the Open Air Circus, Bikes Not Bombs, the Boston Derby Dames, Veterans For Peace, Livable Streets Alliance, the Puppeteers Cooperative, and Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theater. The HONK! parade invites any community group interested in participating to contact parade organizer John Bell (parade@honkfest.org). |
|
4. HONK! at Oktoberfest: October 12, Sunday, 2 pm to 6 pm
|
| Harvard Square |
| Description: The Harvard Square Business Association's Oktoberfest will feature six different HONK! bands in performance on different stages in Harvard Square. See http://harvardsquare.com for details. |
|
5. HONK! at the Dilboy: October 12, Sunday, 8 pm- 11 pm
|
| Dilboy VFW Hall, 371 Summer Street, Somerville |
| Admission: Donation |
| Description: The HONK! Festival will close with an open concert and jam session at the George Dilboy Hall VFW Post featuring over a dozen HONK! bands, special section jams, and mash-ups of various HONK! groups. |
| |
| 6. Brass Bands Conquer The World: October 13, Monday, 5 pm - Midnight |
| Providence, RI |
| Admission: $10 |
| Description: Providence RI Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism will proudly host six activist street bands from around the world. The event will begin in Kennedy Plaza at 5 pm, then march down Washington Street to AS220, at 115 Empire Street in Providence, where doors will open at 6:30. Tickets cost $10. Some of the bands will also appear at the weekly Open Mike at the Black Repertory Theater, 276 Westminster Street, Providence, starting at 9 pm. |
|
|
