Over 250 Masterpieces And Never-Before-Seen Creations Will Rev Their Engines At The World’S Oldest And Largest Celebration Of Artistic Expression On Wheels
The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art – one of the largest non-profit organizations in the country dedicated to the preservation, documentation and exhibition of visionary and outsider art – today announced the line-up for The Orange Show’s 36th Annual Houston Art Car Festival & Parade presented by Team Gillman. 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 April 6 – 16 – with the big parade being held on Saturday, April 15th – showcasing 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.
Team Gillman, one of Houston’s most established auto retailers, will continue its presenting sponsorship of The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Festival & Parade into 2023, providing invaluable support needed for the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art to continue giving the city the beloved annual event while also helping to support the organization’s ongoing arts education and outreach designed to spark creativity in young minds across the region. “Since we were founded in 1938, the Team Gillman family has loved supporting and being a champion for Houston’s creative communities. Through our continued partnership with the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and The Houston Art Car Festival & Parade, we look forward to many more years of celebrating the hard work and dedication to personal artistic vision that is showcased during this iconic event,” said Team Gillman Owner/CEO Chris Gillman.
Starting this year, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will honor three individuals annually during The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Festival & Parade that have made lasting impacts on the Houston arts community, including an Artist, Educator and Patron. For this inaugural year, the honorees will include sculptor & painter Sharon Kopriva, Northside High School art teacher Anna Bass, and business leaders & arts philanthropists The Mafrige Family. In addition, this year’s parade also has a new and notable sponsor in the form of Mobius Risk Group, a data analytics company taking the lead on carbon offset of all art cars featured in the 2023 Festival & Parade with a carbon risk analytics module. “Mobius Risk Group is excited and honored to partner with our friends at the Orange Show Center for visionary Art in reaching their goal of making The Houston Art Car Festival & Parade carbon neutral,” said Mobius CEO Eric Melvin. “Mobius will also be working alongside and supporting, the Orange Show in their plan to make all events and sites carbon neutral including the proposed Orange Show campus expansion plan and new world-class center for Visionary art.”
The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Parade began in 1988 as a small gathering of 40 artists and just 2,000 spectators. The following year, the parade had doubled in participant size as the crowd swelled to tens of thousands and has been growing every year since. Today, it continues to maintain its place as one of the city’s largest free public events, drawing hundreds of thousands of curious spectators who can’t resist the magic of Art Cars, lowriders, masterfully-wheeled contraptions, bejeweled roadsters, custom-crafted classics, and fur-covered, metal-modified, fire-breathing varieties as well as Houston’s finest, loudest, slowest and bangin’ masterpieces – SLABS.
Through its longtime partnership with Houston Independent School District (HISD) – formed by educator and artist Rebecca Bass and her students at Edison Middle School when they created the very first youth art entry at the 1980 Houston Art Car Parade – the Orange Show of Visionary Art will also continue its tradition of integrating Art Car-related programming into the curriculum schools throughout the district and beyond. The result is the participation of 30+ plus schools and youth groups from across the state who have designed and built art cars under the instruction of their teachers or mentors.
The highly anticipated Spring 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 presented by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and Houston Parks Board, taking place on May 13th at MacGregor Park and the Orange Show World Headquarters. Over 100 student-led art bike projects of all shapes and sizes will be featured during the Houston Art Bike Festival, and the public is invited to create their own art bikes and register to participate. In addition, and new for 2023, the Houston Art Bike Parade will incorporate the 50-year old Moonlight Ramble, an evening bike cruise around the city. More information can be found at www.artbikehouston.com.
The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Festival & Parade includes the opportunity for the public to engage with art cars and their owners at locations across Houston at free and ticketed events taking place over ten days. The line-up includes the following (with more events and announcements to be added in the coming weeks):
THURSDAY, APRIL 6
First Thursday at Mid Main – 5 pm (3500-3700 Blocks of Main Street)
The official start of The Orange Show’s 36th Annual Houston Art Car Festival & Parade kicks off at the always-fun monthly series, First Thursday at Mid Main, which will benefit the Orange Show Center for Visionary in April with illuminated art cars and interactive art activities. A $5 donation allows access to the event with live music at various venues around Mid Main as well as a curated market on Winbern Street, beer sampling from Saint Arnold and more with 100% of donations going to the Orange Show.
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
Easter Orange Art Car Hunt – 10 am at Smither Park (2441 Munger Street)
A 39-year-old Orange Show tradition and a fun, free and creative Easter Egg hunt for the whole family. Let the kids loose to find hundreds of candy-filled eggs, prizes, and, of course, oranges! Kids and families will also have an opportunity to see and explore a selection of Art Cars and meet their artists.
2THURSDAY, APRIL 13
The Main Street Drag – 9 am beginning and ending at Orange Show World HQ (2334 Gulf Terminal
Drive)
Designed to “bring the parade to the people,” the Main Street Drag is an opportunity for Art Cars and their artists to visit schools, hospitals, nursing homes, developmental facilities and other locations where residents may not be able to participate on their own at The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Festival & Parade events. Over 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, talk about their inspirations and how they built them while bringing smiles to everyone along the way.
For photos of Main Street Drag (photos by Morris Malakoff) CLICK HERE
For b-roll of Main Street Drag CLICK HERE
Art Car Sneak Peek at Discovery Green – 6-10pm (1500 McKinney Street)
A free and family-friendly evening under the stars in Downtown Houston featuring live music, art activities for the kids, food & drinks, and the opportunity to interact with 100+ art cars and on display and meet their artists throughout in the park and along Avenida Houston. The annual Art Car Sneak Peek is one of the first public opportunities to see new entries rolling in this year’s parade.
For b-roll of the Art Car Sneak Peek CLICK HERE
FRIDAY, APRIL 14
The Legendary Art Car Ball – 6 pm – 11 pm at The Orange Show World Headquarters (2401 Munger
Street)
Wild costumes, live music, interactive and performance art, food, drinks, and a huge selection of illuminated and fire-breathing art cars are hallmarks of the annual Legendary Art Car Ball. Featuring 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 to be announced. Immersive and interactive art installations by INPUT/OUTPUT, Moon Papas, and Maria Chavez, fire performances from Ms. YET & The Renegade Carnies, and the visual spectacle of hundreds of glittering, twinkling, bouncing, and pulsating art cars scattered throughout the Orange Show World Headquarters 8-acre campus. Tickets start at $40 and are available at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com.
For photos of The 2022 Legendary Art Car Ball (photos by Emily Jaschke) CLICK HERE
For b-roll of The 2022 Legendary Art Car Ball CLICK HERE
SATURDAY, APRIL 15
Lineup Party – 11 am on Allen Parkway (@ Heiner Street)
Join Splice Records and Saint Arnold Brewing Company for The Lineup Party – your chance to peruse all 250+ art cars as they get ready for the parade. Enjoy live music on the Saint Arnold Brewing Company stage, beverage booths, food trucks, sponsor activations, games, prizes and more.
3H-E-B Kids Creative Zone – 11 am at Sam Houston Park (1000 Bagby Street)
Ideally situated on the frontlines of the parade starting cars, the Kids Zone features an array of creative activities for both kids and adults alike. Guests to the FREE event will enjoy interactive and creative activations and performances from community partners including Aeolian Manor Foundation, Alley Theatre’s El Zocalo, Art League Houston, The ARTZ, CAMH Teen Council, Children’s Museum of Houston, Houston Botanic Garden, Houston Mariachi Festival, Houston Public Library, MECA, Ripley Cheer, and more. Reserved grandstand seating adjacent to the H-E-B Kids Creative Zone is available for purchase at $40 per person, at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com.
The VIPit Experience – 12 pm at City Hall/Hermann Square (901 Bagby Street)
The ultimate viewing party and largest fundraiser for the Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Festival & Parade offers unobstructed front row views of the parade as it rolls through Downtown, all set within the beautiful Hermann Square at City Hall. 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. Individual tickets start at $175, reserved tables start at $1,500, and reserved grandstand sections start at $2,000 are all available for purchase at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com.
For photos of The 2022 VIPit Experience (photos by Emily Jaschke) CLICK HERE
The 36th Annual Houston Art Car Parade presented by Team Gillman – 2 pm (Downtown Houston and
Allen Parkway)
For photos of the 2022 Houston Art Car Parade (photos by Danitza Ladwig & Morris Malakoff) CLICK HERE For b-roll of the 2022 Houston Art Car Parade CLICK HERE
For the 36th year, 250 rolling masterpieces will take over the city’s streets as nearly 300,000 fans cheer them on from the sidelines. 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 until dispersing at Waugh Drive. As always, the parade is FREE TO ATTEND.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive at the parade route early to secure their spot and take part in beverage and merchandise stations dotting the route as well as food trucks, sponsor activations, entertainment and more. After the checkered flag is waved at 2pm, the parade will last approximately two hours with Allen Parkway and downtown streets opening back up at 5pm. Parking can be found in parking garages downtown or on side streets along Allen Parkway.
SUNDAY, APRIL 16th Art Car Awards Ceremony – 11am at The Orange Show World HQ (2334 Gulf Terminal Drive)
Over $16,000 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 their artists.
The complete lineup of participating 2023 Art Cars will be available at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com in advance of Houston Art Car Parade weekend.