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People walk along Allen Parkway at various art cars line up before the annual Art Car Parade in downtown Houston, Saturday, April 12, 2025.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Colorful, quirky creations will roll through downtown this April as more than 250 decorated vehicles take part in the 39th annual Houston Art Car Parade<\/a>.<\/p>\n The free event returns April 11, part of a four-day celebration running April 9-12, and draws more than 300,000 spectators each year. Here\u2019s what to know about the parade’s history, this year’s grand marshals and more.<\/p>\n What is the Art Car Parade?<\/p>\n Art cars from schools make their way to the parade route at the 36th Annual Houston Art Car Parade on Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Houston.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Conley\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n The Houston Art Car Parade is part of an annual, multi-day celebration organized by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. The weekend includes events such as a preview showcase and the Art Car Ball, leading up to the parade, the largest event of the weekend.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n More than 250 creatively decorated cars and other wheeled vehicles will travel through downtown, transformed by artists from Houston and beyond using paint, upholstery, beads and other materials.<\/p>\n Since its early years, the parade has grown from a small event with a few dozen entries into one of Houston\u2019s largest public art gatherings.<\/p>\n MORE FROM ANA KHAN: Ernesto Neto\u2019s immersive installation returns to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston<\/a><\/p>\n How did the Art Car Parade get its start?<\/p>\n 1994 Houston Art Car parade in downtown, April 30, 1994.<\/p>\n Paul S. Howell\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n It traces back to the Fruitmobile. Houston businessman and developer Carl Detering and his wife, Kit, donated a 1967 Ford station wagon to auction at The Orange Show Foundation’s annual gala in 1984. With a budget of $800, local artist Jackie Harris decorated the car with plastic fruits. After the auction, the vehicle was donated back to the foundation.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The car\u2019s popularity led to a \u201cRoad Show\u201d in 1986 featuring other decorated vehicles. Two years later, the now-defunct Houston International Festival invited the Orange Show to organize an art car parade. The first parade in 1988 featured about 40 entries and drew roughly 2,000 spectators.<\/p>\n THROWBACK:\u00a0Old photos show what Houston’s first-ever Art Car Parade looked like in 1988<\/a><\/p>\n What is the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art?<\/p>\n The Orange Show, photographed Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Houston.<\/p>\n Jon Shapley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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