Iris Zhan, Staff Writer | October 23, 2025
Photos taken at the Honk! Festival
On Sunday, Oct. 12, local activist organizations and activist street bands from across the country filled Harvard Square for a spectacular parade to celebrate 20 years of street music activism.
The parade was the conclusion to Honk! Festival of Activist Street Bands, a three-day event celebrating different forms of art for activism, featuring concerts, dance parties and banner and lantern making.
One participant in the parade was 350 Massachusetts, a statewide climate action group dedicated to advancing climate justice solutions in Massachusetts. Signage and banners advocated the call to “Make Polluters Pay,” a reference to one of their main statewide campaigns: a bill in Massachusetts that would create a climate change superfund, paid for by the largest polluters in Massachusetts, to enable the state to prepare and recover from climate disasters.
Other local activist groups included the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, Food Not Bombs, and Boston Voices of Community and Labor (BVOCAL).
“These bands don’t just play for the people; they play among the people and invite them to join the fun. They are active, activist, and deeply engaged in their communities,” according to the Honk! Festival website.
As each group made its way to Harvard Square, an announcer welcomed each group, with warm welcomes received by the packed streets of people.
Parades are typically celebratory and not advocacy-oriented, and events like the Honk! Festival and the most recent Boston Labor Day Parade mark an important shift in less traditional modes of demonstration that bring together political messaging and celebratory cheer.
Because of Trump’s crackdown on free speech, many are scared to participate in protests for fear of surveillance, detention or deportation. But a parade or concert are less risky ways to keep people engaged in social justice causes and build community.
