Mission
HONK! Festival West is dedicated to the activation of public space through energetic musical performance.
Our Story
Since 2008, we have produced an annual three-day music festival - HONK! Fest West - that celebrates the vibrant street band community that is growing throughout the United States and internationally.
We work to break down systemic barriers to inclusion for those underrepresented within our community, and increase community access to our programming by producing the festival in neighborhoods of the Seattle area underserved by the arts.
At HONK! Fest West you will hear inclusion. At H!FW you will hear groups representing the Eastern European and Latin American street band scene, AfroBrazilian samba, West African drumming, and other flavors of mobile and acoustic street bands from around the globe.
At HONK! Fest West you will see inclusion. Our festival is designed to be ADA accessible, culturally relevant, and be representative of the People of the Global Majority; our performers represent a range of ages, cultures, and gender diversity.
At HONK! Fest West you will support inclusion. Your donation helps:
- Make the annual festival free for all
- Center HONK! in neighborhoods historically underserved by arts programming
- Provide more substantial payments to the performing artists
As a volunteer-run organization, your donation of any size goes directly into the cost of the festival and year-round community programming.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
Help at the event or host an out-of-town band. Visit honkfestwest.org/volunteer
Volunteer on one of our board committees and help make this magic happen. Email volunteer@honkfestwest.org or visit honkfestwest.org/volunteer for more info.
Come to one of our monthly Jam nights with the HONK! All-Stars, open to anyone at any skill level. 3rd Wednesday of every month 7:30pm to 9:30pm at Jules Maes in Georgetown! Follow our social media: Facebook or Instagram for more info.
Recognition
Our organization is 100% volunteer run and funded through generous community members, local businesses, and grant funders such as the 4Culture, ArtsWA, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, National Endowment for the Arts, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Jules Maes, and the many businesses and community members who give throughout the year.