Guide to the first Art Bike Festival in Houston – Highlights, Registration, Parade Route & more!

Following the footsteps of the successful, iconic Art Car Parade, Houston Parks Board, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, and HISD Fine Arts Department are excited to make history with the first-ever Houston Art Bike Parade & Festival 2022! This new parade and festival is a wonderful addition to the artsy wheeled- events of the city.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the city will witness a colorful parade of unique and beautifully designed art bikes! This day-long arts and culture festival will bring together communities and youth programs from across Houston to explore personal creativity, promote health and wellness, and honor the artist in everyone!

Creativity is everywhere!

 

Art Bike Festival in Houston – What to expect? 

MacGregor Park, Fonde Park, and Smither Park will come alive with music, food, community groups, events, and of course, a spectacular parade of art bikes! Houstonians can bring their own art bike (or regular bike!) and participate in the parade or gather around the sidelines to cheer and watch as participants, especially the students of HISD schools, proudly pedal their art bikes around MacGregor Park. 

Ten cash awards will be awarded to the top art bikes based on categories like most colorful, best theme, and best use of repurposed or recycled materials!

After the official parade, everyone is invited to cycle together along Brays Bayou Greenway from MacGregor Park to Fonde Park, eventually ending at Smither Park. Once there, everyone can participate in post-parade activities, witness the award distribution ceremony, and many more art events.

Participants are encouraged to design and build their art bikes with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Everyone can participate as the city celebrates variety through artistic interpretations of how the outdoors connects people – enjoying health, the environment, families, friends, civic pride, and creativity.

 

What is an Art Bike?

From one-wheeled unicycles to multi-wheeled contraptions, art bikes come in all shapes and sizes. Even chariots, wagons, wheelchairs, tricycles, and human-powered dune buggies, are considered art bikes. Basically, art bikes are anything that a person can ride and has wheels but can only move with human-powered movement.

The “art” part of an art bike comes in through designing or modifying these bi-, uni-, or tri-cycles. Many people use paint, metal, sculpture, foam, wood, and other embellishments such as buttons, coins, toys, among many other items, to make these artistic modifications.

It will be exciting to see how Houstonians design their art bikes!

 

Art Bike Festival in Houston – Parade Route, Start Time & More! 

The festivities start at 9 am at MacGregor Park, with the parade beginning at 10 am.

Following the parade, there will be a group art bike ride along Brays Bayou Greenway from MacGregor Park to Fonde Park. The festival will continue at Fonde Park and Smither Park around noon. The celebration concludes at 6 pm at Smither Park.

 

When: 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday, 21st May 2022
Where: Parade at MacGregor Park, 5225 Calhoun, Houston, TX 77021 | Bike Ride along Brays Bayou Greenway | Post-parade activities at Fonde Park, 5500 Carrolton St., Houston, TX 77023, and Smither Park, 2441 Munger St., Houston, TX 77023
How Much: Free to attend; registration is not required but encouraged. Register your bike by May 15, 2022!

For more information about the Houston Art Bike Festival 2022, check the event website, and follow Houston Parks Board on social media!

 

Art Bike Festival in Houston – 2022 Organizers 

Houston Parks Board creates, improves, protects, and advocates for parks for everyone. Since 1976, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has utilized public-private partnerships and its extensive philanthropic, government, and community relationships to provide equitable access to quality parks and green space in the Greater Houston region. In addition to leading the transformational Bayou Greenways initiative, Houston Parks Board cares for more than 2,600 acres of green space and supports park projects large and small. For more information on Bayou Greenways and Beyond the Bayous, visit www.houstonparksboard.org.

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art preserves, promotes, and documents visionary art environments, provides opportunities for the expression of personal artistic vision, and creates a community where that expression is valued. The organization owns and operates The Orange Show, The Beer Can House, and Smither Park, in addition to producing year-long programming that fulfills its mission and provides opportunities for the exploration and education of local folk and visionary art.

As a publicly funded non-profit 501(c)3 organization, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art receives funding, in part, from grants through The City of Houston, the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Brown Foundation, Houston Endowment, Wortham Foundation, Silver Eagle Distributors, as well as private contributions, in-kind support, and volunteer assistance. www.orangeshow.org.

The Houston Independent School District is the largest district in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States, with 276 schools and nearly 197,000 students. The 333- square-mile district is one of the largest employers in the Houston metropolitan area, with more than 27,000 employees.

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department (H.P.A.R.D.) stewards and manages 381 parks and over 39,501 acres of parkland and green space for the City of Houston and develops and implements recreational programming for citizens of all abilities. For more information on the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, call (832) 395-7022 or visit www.houstonparks.org.

 

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