Houston’s most iconic showcase of art on wheels will once again roar through the streets of downtown. The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is bringing back its signature event with an exhilarating lineup of celebrations and artistic experiences April 7-10. This year’s art car parade, presented by Team Gillman, will feature more than 250 mobile masterpieces from across the country including a sizable show from Houston’s slab car community, known for its slow, loud, and bangin’ customizations. Slabs are refashioned old-school American luxury cars such as Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles which have been styled with audacious additions such as spoke elbows, loud stereo systems and sometimes a mounted fifth wheel as custom jewelry.
The parade will showcase more than 100 new and never-before-seen art cars from around the country. Expect to see exhibits such as riders, bike and skater groups, wheeled contraptions, bejeweled roadsters and custom-crafted classics, along with fur-covered, metal-modified, fire-breathing varieties.
This year’s parade is dedicated to the late Ann Harithas, a leading figure in the Texas art scene. Harithas, a collector and curator, is credited with organizing one of the first public exhibitions of Houston art cars in the 1980s.
Art Car Weekend is more than just the parade of cars. It’s four days of showcases, mini parades, live music and kids activities. Festivities open to the public on Thursday, April 7 at Discovery Green downtown. Parade watchers are encouraged to get to the parade route early to grab their spot, and enjoy beverage and merchandise stations along the route.
