BCAF is back

Beloved Houston arts festival heads downtown for triumphant in-person fall bash

The BCAF is back in downtown this fall.

Photo courtesy of Bayou City Arts Festival

After pivoting last year (like so many events) to a virtual affair, one of Houston’s most beloved art events is returning to an in-person celebration this fall.

The Bayou City Arts Festival will be held along Allen Parkway and Sam Houston Park on October 9-10, 2021, 10 am- 6 pm, producer and organizer The Art Colony Association, Inc. announced.

The event went virtual last year due to the global pandemic. As CultureMap reported, it received a financial boost last April from an anonymous donor, who gifted the fest $450,000 in memory of her artist mother.

This year’s featured artist is McKenzie Fisk, a prolific painter from Los Angeles whose work centers on captivating animal imagery. The popular weekend event will allow attendees the chance to meet artists, view original works, and purchase artwork from some 19 art disciplines — including paintings, prints, jewelry, sculptures, and more.

Like any good fest, the event will also offer up live music, food trucks, and beverage stations, along with two entertainment stages and art installations. Adults can enjoy libations at the festival’s wine garden, craft beer garden, and Art Bar. Kids can delight in the Active Imagination Zone, with hands-on art activities for all ages.

Oh, and don’t forget the sweeping views of the downtown skyline.

Frost Bank and the fest will offer a limited availability VIP ticket experience, which includes a tented area with light bites, complimentary beer, wine, and other beverages, per a press release. Nestled under a canopy of trees, the VIP zone will feature roaming musicians, artistic décor, a phone charging station, and more. VIPs will receive all-day access to the area, along with special parking.

Early bird tickets will be available soon online for $15 for adults; $5 for children 6-12. (Children five and under are free.) Adult tickets purchased after September 24, 2021, are $18. Online pre-purchased tickets are required to enter the festival.

Importantly, tickets will not be sold at the gate and can only be purchased online, organizers note.

A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit the festival’s nonprofit partners, including Artists For Artists, Fresh Arts, Houston SPCA, Warriors In Art, Orange Show For Visionary Art, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

festivals downtown

Mags Move In

Shuttered Houston magazine stand finds new home at Austin coffee shop

Tomo Mags bus outside of brick-and-mortar Austin store

Photo courtesy of the Downtown Austin Alliance

Tomo Mags is driving into a new era.

Austin's roaming newsstand Tomo Mags — which sells books out of a signature blue bus — is moving up in the world. Its new brick-and-mortar bookstore and partner coffee shop, Cielito Lindo, are celebrating their grand opening Thursday, January 22, at 411 Brazos Street, #101. A ribbon-cutting ceremony from 10-11 am with the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Chamber of Commerce will mark the occasion.

Tomo Mags started in 2015 in Houston, on a decommissioned school bus. Founder Vico Puentes hit the ground running — or driving — visiting shopping centers, galleries, universities, cafés, and more. It toted artsy independent magazines about fashion, photography, design, erotica, and even some comparatively normie selections like The Economist and New York Magazine.

The journey so far has included an earlier stationary space that later closed (and another one that reopened), a pause for several years, and a "bittersweet" move to Austin in 2025.

Tomo Mags Austin interior The collection has a lot more room to expand in this new space.Photo courtesy of the Downtown Austin Alliance

The new shop offers more of the same: a wide selection of magazines and art books alongside studio tools like pens and notebooks, merch, and fashionable accessories. It's been in a soft-opening phase since mid-December. Cielito Lindo, which opened in a coffee pot-shaped trailer in Manor in spring 2025, also kicked off its soft opening in the space a few days. Both the Tomo bus and Cielito's trailer will continue operating.

Even though both businesses are relatively new to Austin, Puentes has deep personal connections with the city.

“Before opening TOMO mags, I worked in downtown Austin for the last six years, and I’ve seen such an incredible evolution in what it feels like for the people who work and live here, as well as the visitors passing through,” said Puentes in a press release.

Tomo Mags Austin interior Cafe tables are great for flipping through new finds with Cielito Lindo's signature horchata latte.Photo courtesy of the Downtown Austin Alliance

Driving around town to make sales may sound like a fast-paced existence, but Puentes hopes visitors to Tomo can slow down when they visit, enjoying the physical experience and maybe even creating a personal art archive over time. Part of that includes getting to know the artists filling the shelves.

"With TOMO mags, our goal is to create a place people can come back to regularly to slow down, find inspiration, and leave with something special, or a gift that actually feels thoughtful," he said. "We’re already meeting people from all over the world, and we’re proud to host them and share recommendations that help them experience Austin beyond just downtown, while also spotlighting the creative community and local businesses that make this city so special.”

magazines design openings bookstore