Get ready to catch those outrageously made-up machines out on these city streets once again – art car season is back.
The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art has announced the line-up for The Orange Show’s 36th Annual Houston Art Car Festival & Parade. Following a record year in 2022, the oldest and largest celebration of art cars in the world will take over the city of Houston from Thursday, April 6 to Sunday, April 16, with the big parade being held on Saturday, April 15.
As always, the beloved fest will showcase more than 250 mobile masterpieces from across the country, including nearly 100 new, never-been-seen creations, while engaging the public with over 10 days of opportunities to express their personal artistic vision.
Starting this year, the Orange Show will honor three individuals annually during the festival that have made lasting impacts on the Houston arts community. This inaugural year, the honorees will include sculptor and painter Sharon Kopriva, Northside High School art teacher Anna Bass, and business leaders and arts philanthropists The Mafrige Family.
More favorites include the Easter Orange Art Car Hunt (Saturday, April 8), The Main Street Drag (Thursday, April 13), the Art Car Sneak Peek at Discovery Green (Thursday, April 13), and the Art Car Awards Ceremony (Sunday, April 16). Kind-and-family-friendly events abound this year; check the official site for a full schedule.
Back for another year is The Legendary Art Car Ball, which will dazzle guests on Friday, April 14 at The Orange Show World Headquarters (2401 Munger St.). Expect wild costumes, rockin' tunes, interactive and performance art, food, drinks, and a huge selection of illuminated and fire-breathing art cars. This year's entertainment includes New Orleans avant-garde “rap cabaret” sensation Boyfriend, Austin’s lauded electro-pop performer Caleb de Casper, Houston’s DJ Amarji, the high energy Free Rads 2nd Line, and more, per a release.
Art offerings for the ball include immersive and interactive art installations by INPUT/OUTPUT, Moon Papas, and Maria Chavez, fire performances from Ms. YET & The Renegade Carnies, and more. That's all on top of the entire 8-acre campus full of hundreds of glittering, twinkling, bouncing, and pulsating art cars. Tickets start at $40 and are available at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com.
Photo by Danitza Ladwig
Stars like rap icon Bun B show up for the parade.
This highly anticipated vehicular art spectacle will also prominently feature a contingent of art bikes — decked out, modified, and artistically designed bicycles — in advance of The Second Annual Houston Art Bike Festival, taking place on Saturday, May 13 at MacGregor Park and the Orange Show World Headquarters.
For the uninitiated, the fest features more than 100 student-led, art bike projects of all shapes and sizes. The public is also invited to create their own art bikes and register to participate.
Additionally this year, the Houston Art Bike Parade will incorporate the 50-year-old Moonlight Ramble, an evening bike cruise around the city.
More information on the Art Car Festival & Parade can be found here.
