PRONK! returns! On Monday October 10th, 2016, aka Indigenous People's Day, the sounds and sights of street bands from here and around the country and around the world will join activist, artists and musicians in our fair city as part of the NINTH annual Providence HONK (PRONK!) Festival. And just who are these characters? We are a victorious riot of local favorites like the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, and Kickin' Brass. We are a cacophonous street celebration with out of t...
PRONK! returns! On Monday October 10th, 2016, aka Indigenous People's Day, the sounds and sights of street bands from here and around the country and around the world will join activist, artists and musicians in our fair city as part of the NINTH annual Providence HONK (PRONK!) Festival. And just who are these characters? We are a victorious riot of local favorites like the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, and Kickin' Brass. We are a cacophonous street celebration with out of town brass bands! We are a street intervention like no other, with outfits and misfits from Rhode Island and beyond - musicians, artists, activists, makers - taking over the streets as part of the Providence HONK Parade.
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For the 9th Annual Festival, the PRONK! Committee is partnering with the STEP UP Coalition: Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) and various other activist groups in Providence to support to the Community Safety Act. The goal of this collaboration is to use music, dance and art to bring attention to injustices and inequalities in our city and encourage people across Providence to stand behind this legislation so that we can ban racial profiling and build a safer city, specifically for youth, immigrants and people of color.
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SCHEDULE:
- 3-4:30pm: Performances at Burnside Park
- 5pm: Parade with Bands and Community/Activist Groups
- 6-10pm: Music by Hurricane Barrier, Hot Club
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PRONK:
RECLAIMS the streets with brass, beats, and feet!
IS a free occupation of public space.
IS people-powered music. No wires, no amps, off the grid.
IS a party.
IS spawned from the original HONK! Festival in Somerville, MA that has “grown into a new type of street band movement—throughout the country and across the globe—outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive, reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world.” (~HONK!)
SUPPORTS education & questioning of mainstream narratives.
IS an antidote to mainstream culture.
IS a celebration of resistance to consumerism, colonialism, hatred, and injustice.
HAPPENS because of the work of hundreds of volunteers.
CELEBRATES Providence.
IS NOT consumer-driven.
ENCOURAGES youth to engage with music and art as a platform for social change.
IS family-friendly.
AIMS to build relationships between and among artists and organizations.
IS NOT a Columbus Day parade.
BELIEVES artists and musicians have something to contribute to social justice movements.
DOES NOT support complacency and unquestioned acceptance.
ASPIRES to spark meaningful dialogues around challenges dividing our communities.
SEEKS to utilize the the visual and auditory noise of artists and local, national, and international street bands to highlight the important work of activists making change in our own community.
We, the community of PRONK! supporters and organizers, recognize that we have a long way to go.
