Electrifying!

Lighted art cars rock and roll at first annual Gloworama

Fireworks at the end of the parade signaled the start of the low-key AfterGlowparty in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Bill Olive
Evelyn Fasnacht's open sleigh art car heralded the arrival of Santa.
Bill Olive
Holland Chaney, left, Kate Fester and Vanessa Riley, who made a voluptuous Mrs.Claus.
Photo by Bill Olive
Add a few lights and an art car becomes party of the illuminated parade.
Bill Olive
The "Dance" mobile was sponsored by Carnes Funeral Home.
Bill Olive
Cool dudes light up the night on the Avenida de las Americas.
Bill Olive
Lights and more lights entertain the crowd of 8,000.
Bill Olive
Russ Richmond and Marianne Mallia
Bill Olive
This normal-looking Santa makes an unconventional arrival — driving a redLincoln.
Bill Olive
Callie Brown, left, Andy DiRaddo and Terri DiRaddo
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Rusty Riall, from left, Joelle Litwak and Buddy Lewis were among street skatersaccompanying the art cars.
Bill Olive
Evelyn and Jim Fasnacht
Bill Olive

Now really, what was Santa doing cruising the streets of downtown Houston with a pole dancer and a belly dancer? And what about the ice cream sandwiches flying out of the window of the Snow Dog ice cream truck?

That was just a sliver of the unconventional activity sparked by the art car crowd on Saturday night for the launch of the city's first illuminated art car parade — Gloworama.

More than 50 whimsically lighted art cars glided, jerked and jived down Avenida de las Americas in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, entertaining a crowd of more than 8,000. And in true art car tradition, the scene was total whacked-out fun.

Santa arrived, not in an open-air sleigh but driving a red Lincoln. A bagpiper in full kilt regalia performed in the stern of a rolling pirate ship. A personal favorite was the Carnes Funeral Home "Mobile Disco" vehicle -- a hollowed out school bus with disco tunes blaring, riders tossing Mardi Gras beads and funeral home frisbees into the crowd and signs encouraging all to "Get Up and Dance," a mortician's ultimate fantasy.

Costumed, illuminated skaters swirled in and out of the rolling procession adding another layer of visual stimulation to the scene.

"I think we have the beginning of a fabulous event . . . next time, I want 10 times the route," said art car owner Evelyn Fasnacht, who along with Sharon Adams of the Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department, divined the colorful antidote to Thanksgiving weekend blahs. The event, underwritten primarily by H-E-B, was co-sponsored by the CEFD, the Houston Downtown Alliance and Art Cars of Houston.

Fasnacht drove her own holiday-themed art car loaded with lights, a Christmas tree, lighted reindeer soaring overhead and fashion designer Vanessa Riley, riding on the trunk, portraying a voluptuous Mrs. Claus in an original costume.

For a first-time happening, the night was chock full of activity. It began with a light show spectacular by Andy DiRaddo's LD Systems illuminating one side of the George R. Brown. While the crowds gathered along the boulevard for a view of the show, a contingent of heavy hitters, plunking down $150 per person, partied on a convention center balcony where food, drink and an overhead view of the parade were included. Mayoral candidate Annise Parker was among them.

"This is so incredibly fantastic," Parker said. "Houston is just on the verge of being one of the most cool cities in the country."

The partying went on late into the night with the AfterGlow, a schmooze in the convention center where the art cars were parked for close inspection and where the Rich Latimer Band played.

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income news

This is the income it takes to be middle class in Houston in 2026

Photo by Dennis Lamberth on Unsplash

Who needs a raise?

A new study tracking the upper and lower thresholds for middle class households across the nation's largest cities has revealed Houstonians have to make at least a few grand more than last year to maintain their middle class status this year.

According to SmartAsset's just-released annual report, "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America – 2026 Study," Houston households need to make anywhere from $42,907 to $128,722 to qualify as middle class earners this year.

Compared to 2025, Houstonians need to make $1,153 more per year to meet the minimum threshold for a middle class status, whereas the upper bound has stretched $3,448 higher. The median income for a Houston household in 2024 was $64,361, the study added.

SmartAsset's experts used 2024 Census Bureau median household income data for the 100 biggest U.S. cities and all 50 states and determined middle class income ranges by using a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary."

In the report's ranking of the U.S. cities with the highest household incomes needed to maintain a middle class status, Houston ranked No. 80.

In the report's state-by-state comparison, Texas has the 24th largest middle class income range. Overall, Texas households need to make between $53,147 and $159,442 to be labeled "middle class" in 2026. For additional context, the median income for a Texas household in 2024 came out to $79,721.

"Often, the expectations that come with the term 'middle class' include reaching home ownership, raising kids, the comfort of modest emergency funds and retirement savings, and the occasional splurge or vacation," the report said. "And as the median household income varies widely across the U.S. depending on the local job market, housing market, infrastructure and other factors, so does swing the bounds on what constitutes a middle class income in America."

What it takes to be middle class elsewhere around Texas
Two Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs – Frisco and Plano – have some of the highest middle class income ranges in the country for 2026, SmartAsset found.

Frisco households need to make between $96,963 and $290,888 to qualify as middle class this year, which is the third-highest middle class income range nationwide.

Plano's middle class income range is the eighth highest nationally, with households needing to make between $77,267 and $231,802 for the designation.

This is the salary it takes to be a middle class earner in other Texas cities for 2026:

No. 28 – Austin: between $60,287 and $180,860
No. 40 – Irving: between $56,566 and $169,698
No. 44 – Fort Worth: between $55,002 and $165,006
No. 57 – Garland: between $50,531 and $151,594
No. 60 – Arlington: between $49,592 and $148,77
No. 61 – Dallas: between $49,549 and $148,646
No. 73 – Corpus Christi: between $44,645 and $133,934
No. 77 – San Antonio: between $44,117 and $132,352
No. 83 – Lubbock: between $41,573 and $124,720
No. 84 – Laredo: between $41,013 and $123,038
No. 89 – El Paso: between $39,955 and $119,864

smartasset finance income reports salaries houston