Colorful and Kooky As Ever, Art Car Ball and Parade Put the Pedal to the Metal

Emily Jaschke
Colorful and Kooky As Ever, Art Car Ball and Parade Put the Pedal to the Metal

The 'Lisa Crank' crew

AFTER A TWO-year hiatus, the Art Car Parade returned to the streets of Downtown, a beloved weekend-long event punctuated by the colorful Art Car Ball.


The largest event of its kind in the world, the Orange Show's Art Car Parade showcased more than 250 vibrant vehicles decked out from bumper to bumper. A sneak peek at Discovery Green hosted nearly 100 Art Cars and featured music by Ten Patrick as part of the park's Thursday-night concert series. The following night, the Legendary Art Car Ball took place at the Orange Show World Headquarters, where illuminated mobile masterpieces and multiple bands provided electric entertainment all evening long.

Saturday's main event kicked off with a festivities at the starting line. Many migrated over to the VIPit at Hermann Square for cocktails and light bites (and ample shade!) before the displays began rolling through Downtown.

Last year's parade became a parking-lot event at the Orange Show's five-acre campus, with staggered entry times to promote social distancing, and a maze of showpieces accompanied by QR codes so revelers could give themselves a self-guided digital tour.

“Rising Strong” by the Waters family

The Free Rads Street Band

Keri Henry

Paul Middendorf, Cat Nguyen, Zeina Hussein, Matt Bradshaw, Scott Yoder and Andrew Tharp

“Carlagio” by Chris and Tom Reinsvold

Golden Dawn Arkestra

Kam Franklin

Jeff Shell

Jeff Cooney and Maggie Flecknoe

Mayer and Benjy Levit

Anna Grace Mandola, Michael Mandola, Gia Mandola

Miya Shay and Brett Birkinbine

Melissa Dobrowski and Katherine Gillman

Jose Ocque and Stuart Rosenberg

Parties

Artist Tierney Malone

IN 1968, IN the summer months of the Vietnam War, when musicians across the country were gleefully stretching the boundaries of funk, rock and psychedelia to express the fears, hopes and dreams of a draft-age generation, the number-one jam on Black and White radio stations was “Tighten Up” by Archie Bell and the Drells.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

The gallerist's beloved dog Tuta, Anya Tish, and artist Adela Andea with Anya

LAST THURSDAY, DAWN Ohmer, gallery director of Anya Tish Gallery, called to tell me Anya died on June 12 in her hometown of Kraków, Poland. It was a tearful call, the kind of call I am resigned to receiving more often as I get older. For many of us in Houston’s art community — gallery owners, artists, collectors, and arts writers — the news was sudden and unexpected. Death is a look away from rationality, and it is hard to imagine someone you cared for and who cared about you no longer being present physically, in the flesh, in the here and now.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment