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Save the dates: Oct. 5-8. There’s a wide variety of events planned in Somerville, Cambridge and Boston. Free and open to all!

With already over 30 activist street bands coming from near and far, the seventh annual HONK! Festival may prove to be the most outrageous urban gathering yet! This election year’s HONK! will be held from October 5 through October 8 (encompassing Columbus Day Weekend), just in time to playfully kick some butt while seriously attempting to inspire action in a world that yearns for change.

The preliminary HONK! schedule, which will be finalized in early September, can be found at www.honkfest.org/schedule/. Many outdoor and indoor concerts (mostly free) will be held throughout Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston, along with one very large and several mini parades, and a symposium for those who crave some sit-down in-depth discussion about the HONK! phenomena — instigated in 2006 in Davis Square, Somerville, and now sweeping the nation (annual HONKs now in Austin, Seattle, Brooklyn, Providence) — and its impact on the social-political landscape.

The current roster of this year’s HONK! bands is located at www.honkfest.org/bands-2012/. They hail from as far away as Italy, New Orleans, and Vancouver, to as near as Somerville and Jamaica Plain! Up-to-date information on bands and their HONK! performance schedules will be posted on www.honkfest.org, twitter.com/honkfest/, www.facebook.com/honkfestival, and by calling 617-383-HONK (4665).

As of this writing, a few summer activities are also in place, for anyone who would like to get an early jump on the HONK! bandwagon:

• HONK! Kickstarter campaign: details can be found at www.honkfest.org/kickstarter. The goal this year is to reach $12,000 by mid-August. Last year, HONK! far exceeded a similar fundraising campaign. Individuals can donate and subscribe to receive notices by going through the HONK! website.
• HONK! Parade planning: the first meeting is to be held on Thurs., July 26, 7-9 pm, at Sprout & Co., 339R Summer St. near Davis Square, Somerville (www.thesprouts.org). Join with other community groups and individuals for a meeting to brainstorm about different ways to make visually stunning and evocative street parades during the HONK! Festival; including a new evening lantern parade in Davis Square neighborhoods, and the Sunday “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet” Parade from Davis Square to Harvard Square, featuring 30 street bands and 31 community groups. If interested, contact parade@honkfest.org.
• HONK! T-shirt design: a call is going out to all those who have an artistic desire to design this year’s HONK! T-shirt. The deadline for submissions is August 15. Send queries and original design submissions to art@honkfest.org.

For more background information on HONK! and its origins, visit www.honkfest.org/about/.

Thu., July 26, 7-9pm: Attention Past, Present and Future Participants in the HONK! Festival Parade!

We love making the HONK! Parade with you, and look forward to doing so this coming October! (The 2012 HONK! Festival will take place October 5-8!)

We invite you to brainstorm and discuss the subject of this October’s HONK! Parades (notice plural…) on Thursday, July 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Sprout, 339R Summer Street, near Davis Square.

We propose the following agenda:

1. Schedule of parades for the 2012 HONK! Festival, including

a) Lantern Parades Friday, October 5;

b) Neighborhood Parades Saturday, October 6; and

c) The HONK! Parade proper: “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet” from Davis Square to Harvard Square, Sunday, October 7.

2. “Street Art and Giant Spectacle”–how do people around the world and over the centuries make “big affect” images for processional performance?  An informational skillshare via the magic of the digital projector

3. Brainstorming Sessions: What things have worked for you in past parades?  What are you thinking of for this year’s parades?  Should we organize parade building workshops in the coming months to help you build cool things?  What would be most helpful to you in your preparations for the HONK! Parade?

Please rsvp to parade@honkfest.org if you can come to this happy funtime productive meeting!  Also let us know if you have any suggestions, questions or comments!

Thanks!

John Bell, for the HONK! Parade

This year’s HONK! Festival takes place earlier than usual — Fri., Sept. 30, and Sun., Oct. 2. More details to come this summer.