Art on Parade: Houston celebrates the weird and wonderful on wheels

The 23rd-annual Houston Art Car Parade featured a heady confluence of old-school R&B and classic rock 'n' roll. With Blues Brother himself Dan Akroyd serving as the parade's grand marshal, an elaborate entry dedicated to the Beatles and designed and constructed by students at Houston's Sam Houston High School called “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” claimed the Mayor's Cup trophy and $2,000 grand prize.

Numerous entries featured live bands and musical themes or tributes, as the 2010 edition of what's billed as the oldest and biggest art-car parade in the country lived up to its reputation.

The parade, which took to the streets on May 8, was filled with more than 250 entries, and a crowd estimated at 250,000 people lined the two-mile parade route near downtown Houston. Presented by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Arts, an eclectic group of local artists, the Art Car Parade has grown from an intimate gathering of a handful of artisans, sculptors and visionaries who envisioned the car as a platform for artistic expression to a four-day celebration featuring corporate sponsors and a benefit gala.

The entries ran the gamut of human imagination and ingenuity. There is no preselection process, no juried selection of entries. Anyone who makes a decorated or otherwise decked-out wheeled vehicle, including bicycles, can join the parade. There is a panel of judges, but parade-goers can also vote on their favorites via text message.

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