(10.9) This festival/parade of marching bands is insanely fun — and very kid friendly — and this year it starts by the river on South Water Street, on four stages: the Wild Colonial lot, the River Boardwalk, the Sunflower Field, and the Corner Park. So what is the Providence Honk Festival a.k.a Pronk!?

Go here for complete schedule and map.

2pm to 5pm: South Water St. Performances: Bands+Artists+Community Organizations (Stages ABCD) 5:30pm: People’s Parade Starts at Stage A (Wild Colonial Parking Lot) 6pm – 10pm: Night Performances (Stages EFG)

The bands include our hometown heroes the What Cheer? Brigade and the Extraordinary Rendition Band, as well as a few entries from the Trinity Academy for Performing Arts (TAPA). And new to me is this Black Out Drum Squad. Joining our local talent will be the Chaotic Noise Marching Corps and the Filthy FemCorps out of Seattle, New Creations up from New Orleans, as well as Damas de Ferro all the way from Brazil! And what is going on in Somerville? They have no fewer than four bands in the festival.

The parade leads everybody down to the Hot Club and the hurricane barrier and this may be my favorite part of the event. (Facebook event page.)

Free, 2pm to 11pm, Monday, October 9, South Water Street (directions)