The School of HONK turned 10 this year, and we celebrated in so many ways:
Every Sunday, we welcomed newcomers and old-timers alike
- to make fun, music & magic together
- in a community that values play over perfection
- and brings inspiration to our friends and neighbors.
We played at our favorite festivals like Juneteenth, Wake Up the Earth, Cambridge & Somerville Porchfests, Halloween parades, and of course, the 20th annual Honkfest.
Our year of celebration also included new experiments:
We hosted our first Community Gatherings
- to talk about how we do what we do
- and to dream about what we’d like to do next;
- how we care for each other as a community,
- and even how to start a new band;
- we even held a “speed-friending” session – like speed dating but for friends!
We also
- explored new destinations in Winchester and Allston,
- expanded our Summer HONK middle-school camp,
- and collaborated with Around Hear and the Mystic Learning Center for an afterschool program in East Somerville;
- we added new tunes to our repertoire, featuring struts, shouts, umbrella dancing, and… chickens? (yup, we added another song with animal sounds — that’s on brand);
- and we reveled at our 10th Birthday Gala, where band alumni joined current members to share food, music, memories, and dancing to the grooves of Undertow Brass Band.
Happily, our second decade is off to a terrific start!
But we do need your help to keep our first-of-its-kind school and community strutting.
The School of HONK is free for all to join, but it isn’t free to run. In addition to covering expenses -- like rent, insurance, van maintenance, and loaner instruments -- we’re building a nest egg to secure a more permanent home in the near future.
Your contributions keep the music, magic, fun, and friendship going all year long.
We’re so grateful for your support, and we can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
Organizer
School of HONK
Beneficiary

