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• 1 2019-12-10T05:00:43-05:00 The Marching Bands 27 plain 2019-12-21T01:25:06-05:00

  At HONK! there are two broad categories of performers: those coming out of a New Orleans Brass Band Style, and those steeped in what I call "Marching Band Style."
  
  The bands themselves tended to dress in uniform, usually a pattern or color head-to-toe. 
  These groups often included flag twirlers and majorettes (with batons). These non-instrumental performers tended to dress spectacularly with eye-catching and unusual clothes. The majorettes in the first image below opted for mixed patterns and textures, creating an unusual look. Their colorful display transports the audience from a "standard day on the street" to a different world where people can express themselves however they like. The outfits let the audience know that something celebratory and performative is happening--meaning we should also get into a new frame of mind in order to enjoy it. Their clothing choices transform the location from a normal street into a fantastical celebration.  

  
  
  
  
   
• 1 2019-12-10T05:28:13-05:00 The FUN! 17 image_header 2019-12-21T12:59:14-05:00

  It's also just so fun!

  And that’s powerful too. It is powerful to see people who feel free, who aren't trying to make money, who aren't trying to do anything but have a good time. We often look at public space and see "a commute," or "a grey landscape." The clothes at HONK! require us to reevaluate. The grey of the suburb comes alive with color and exuberance. These clothes represent the general joy that HONK! creates for both those wearing the clothes, and for those of us looking at them. It ensures that the music is not being taken too seriously. It makes the music and dancing (or not) feel accessible and not at all daunting. These clothes create space for the ridiculous and the farce (other parts of carnivalesque). Wearing weird clothes and playing music in the streets is already non-normative. After all, we use clothes to denote our status and our jobs; we use them to communicate to others who we are. Clothing at HONk! communicates unselfconsciousness. These fun outfits put performer and audience on the same level playing field, and on the same side of a challenge: have a good time in the streets of your city.