EVENTS AND VENUES IN HOUSTON AREA
Art Car Parade
Houston's largest free public event returns April 12, 2025!
Community groups, public and private schools, and professional organizations have become regular participants. Inspired by what they see, spectators create art cars of their own and often become future participants. And as the parade grows, attracting more and more participants, the complexity and quality of the entries increases.
One of Houston's most beloved annual events started as small gatherings of like-minded artists and individuals in the early 1980s - from the creation of Jackie Harris' "Fruitmobile" and the Ann Harithas curated exhibition "Collision" at Lawndale Art Center in 1984, to Rachel Hecker and Trish Herrera's New Music Parade and the Orange Show's "Road Show" in 1986 - all of which featured automobiles that had been transformed by artists into works of art. Then in 1988, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art produced "Roadside Attractions: The Art Car Parade" with 40 art cars seen by 2,000 people.
Today, The Houston Art Car Parade is the largest celebration of its kind in the world, featuring over 250 entries and attracting 200,000-300,000 spectators as the mobile masterpieces created by artists, students, youth groups, families, organizations and anyone with a passion for creativity roll through downtown Houston every April. The Houston Art Car Parade represents the idea that there is an artist inside all of us, and in doing so offers the opportunity to showcase that inherent creativity on a large scale.
More information at www.thehoustonartcarparade.com.
Click the year below each graphic below to see the photo galleries
