art car week is back

Houston's iconic Art Car Parade revs up with a week of sneak peeks, over-the-top parties, and more

As locals know, springtime in Houston means it's once again time for the Art Car Parade.

For the 36th year, 250 rolling masterpieces will take over the city’s streets as thousands of fans cheer them on from the sidelines. But before that happens, some other Art Car-related events will be going down.

Festivities will start off on Tuesday, April 11, as the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and the Art Car Museum (6 pm-8 pm; 140 Heights Blvd.) will host an intriguing discussion with automotive artists Henry Chang and Randy Grubb, whose spectacular pieces of automotive ingenuity will be on display at the parade.

Parade to the people

On Thursday, April 13, the Main Street Drag will be going on all over Houston. Designed to “bring the parade to the people,” this events finds Art Cars and their artists visiting schools, hospitals, nursing homes, developmental facilities and other locations where residents may not be able to participate on their own on parade day.

More 100 cars will create a series of “mini parades” that will make their way to designated locations, as the artists spend time showing off their rolling masterpieces.

A free sneak peak

Later that evening, Discovery Green will host the Art Car Sneak Peek, a free, family-friendly evening featuring entertainment, food & drinks, and the opportunity to see 100+ art cars and meet their artists throughout the park and along Avenida Houston.

Art Car Ballin'

The Art Car Ball will be on Friday, April 14, at Orange Show World Headquarters (2401 Munger St.). Along with wild costumes, interactive/performance art, food, drinks, and a huge selection of illuminated art cars, there will also be performances from 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.

Rollin' out

Saturday, April 15 is parade day, but several events will go down beforehand. At 11 am, Splice Records and Saint Arnold will present the Lineup Party, just west of the I-45 overpass. This is your chance to peruse the more than 250 art cars as they get ready for the parade.

At the same time, the H-E-B Kids Creative Zone, which will feature an array of creative activities for both kids and adults alike, will be over at Sam Houston Park. Over at Hermann Square at City Hall, the VIPit Experience will pop off at noon. The event features complimentary bites from over a dozen local chefs and restaurants, cocktails, pre-parade entertainment, kids’ art activities, swag bags, live parade commentating from notable Houston personalities, and nearby reserved parking.

At 2 pm, the parade will start rolling. Orange Show founder Marilyn Oshman will lead the parade as the 2023 Grand Marshal. The parade officially begins at the intersection of Dallas and Bagby Streets (on Allen Parkway) heading into downtown before circling City Hall and heading outbound onto Allen Parkway out of downtown, dispersing at Waugh Drive.

Art Car Awards

Things will close on Sunday, April 16 with the Art Car Awards Ceremony at Orange Show World Headquarters. Over $15,000 will be distributed to Art Car artists and groups in various categories through a judging process that rates entries based on their creativity, artistic techniques and inspiration. The public is invited to come celebrate the winners and get a final chance to see this year’s Art Car entries and meet the artists.

Photo courtesy of The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art

Houston's most colorful rides are back.

For schedules and more information, visit the official website.

Movie Review

Rose Byrne and star-laden cast try to beat the system in new movie Tow

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Rose Byrne in Tow.

Actor Rose Byrne had a banner year in 2025, getting her first Oscar nomination for her starring role in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. Although she came up short in that race, she’s getting another chance to prove her acting bona fides in the new film, Tow.

In the “inspired by a true story” movie, Byrne plays Amanda, a down-on-her-luck woman who lives in her car and can’t find a job. Living in Seattle, she tries to stay in touch with her daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), who lives with her dad in another city, but circumstances sometimes limit their communications, especially when her car is stolen.

The good news is that her car is found relatively quickly. The bad news is that the tow company is charging her to get her car back, money she can’t afford. Now truly homeless, she does everything in her power to right the wrong, even taking the company to court. Without much luck, she has to start staying in a women’s shelter run by Barbara (Octavia Spencer), where she makes friends with Nova (Demi Lovato) and Denise (Ariana DeBose), among others.

Directed by Stephanie Laing and written by Jonathan Keasey and Brent Boivin, the film has relatively low stakes going for it and never really tries to make the story feel deeper than it is. The situation Amanda finds herself in is clearly a tough one, and any empathetic person would feel for her and want her to overcome her plight. But the filmmakers keep things light and never try to up the drama in any significant way.

The issue Amanda is dealing with, being price gouged by a predatory towing company, is one with which many people can relate. But aside from helpfully underscoring Amanda’s frustration by showing the increasing number of days she is without a car, they never establish why they felt this particular story was one worth telling. Her personal issues, including a growing estrangement with her daughter, fail to conjure any big emotions.

The filmmakers are very loose with their storytelling, especially when it comes to side characters. The presence of the women she meets at the shelter, and Kevin (Dominic Sessa), the young lawyer who offers to help her, never makes full sense other than a need for her to have other people with whom to interact. A tighter focus on what Amanda was going through would’ve helped both her and people around her feel more important.

Byrne is a dynamic performer who’s shown great skill at both drama and comedy, but there’s nothing special about her performance here. Hampered a bit by a blonde wig and false teeth, she feels out of sorts for much of the film. The unusually high-powered supporting cast — both Spencer and DeBose are Oscar winners — makes things interesting on first blush, but none of them outside of Sessa is given much to do, so they’re mostly wasted.

Tow will be a disappointment for anyone hoping to see more great stuff from Byrne. While she remains a fine actor, her performance and the story as a whole are nowhere near the level shown in her previous film. The real life predicament shown in the film also never rises to the level of being of something worth showing to the masses.

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Tow is now showing in theaters.

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