Coming to White Center on June 2 is HonkFest West which will bring 300 musicians all bleating, blaring, blowing and showing off their musical skills in a street closing all day event. Honk! Fest West describes itself as "a grass roots, non-profit, music festival. Honk! Festivals are a part of a global renaissance of community street band culture." The festival will first visit Georgetown on June 1, the White Center and finally Columbia City on June 3. The event will close 16th SW for a parade and performances.

Their website goes on to say: 

"For three days in Seattle area parks and streets, 25+ bands deliver music and celebration that is completely free and family-friendly.

HONK! festivals are a different sort of music festival. These festivals are part of a global renaissance of community street band culture providing music by the people for the people.We at HONK! Fest West are thrilled to be a local mainstay of this musical renaissance. HONK! Fest West 2016’s mission is to celebrate community music in the public spaces of Seattle with free fanfare performances representing diverse musical influences. Like all HONK! festivals, HONK! Fest West is family friendly and always free to the public.

HONK! bands are typically acoustic and mobile, often politically aware and articulate, and always high spirited. There is a rich community ethic among HONK!ers, who use their music to erode the barriers between professional and novice, and between audience and performers. Although uniforms are sometimes used as a performance tool, individuality is key, and group members often hail from all range of classes, ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds. Perhaps most importantly, the honkers’ ultimate goal is to have fun, to relish the art of making fun as a form of individual and collective transcendence, and to encourage others to see and do the same.

Who is Honk! Fest West?

HONK! Fest West is built through the community. Contributions large and small from individuals, businesses, and organizations are what keep HONK! Fest West going year after year. Event housing, feeding, and coordination of other volunteer musicians is organized and managed by hundreds of volunteers. Our hope, is that HONK! Fest West is you!

We have partnered with Shunpike, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports the arts, as our fiscal sponsor. Donations to HONK! Fest West and Shunpike will be tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law, and may be eligible for employer matching.

Our festival is part musical gathering, part community activism. Many of us play an instrument. Some don’t. But all of us have found that live, energetic, mobile, acoustic music—no matter which side of the mouthpiece you are on—brings audience and band together in something like family. A raucous, playful family.

Where is Honk! Fest West?

Honk! Fest West occurs in neighborhoods around Seattle! It is transit friendly and accessible. Honk! bands are typically acoustic and mobile, often politically aware and articulate, and always high spirited. These Honk! ‘marching bands’ take to the streets with a common purpose: to share music with the public and shatter exclusionary principles and defy simple categorizations."