ART CAR KIDS
More fun for children makes parade even more family friendly.
Gerry Waters has a tip for parents taking small spectators to the Houston Art Car Parade this weekend: The real action takes place before the cars turn on their ignitions.
Waters and her three children, now teenagers, happily watched the parade from the sidelines for years before they decided to submit their first Art Car entry last year. It took home the top prize.
At Saturday’s parade, the Waters will ride on the back of their winning 32-foot-long psychedelic dino they call Hippysaurus. They’ll also walk alongside their Art Car entry for this year — a much smaller contraption they’ve named Hippie Tortoise.
The parade route will bring to mind when her kids attended as toddlers, when Waters says their favorite part each year was crossing the barricades before the parade began to touch the cars and talk to the artists.
For kids who don’t have the attention span to last through the two-hour parade, or for those who might find it slow-paced, the free kids’ zone is bigger than ever this year, thanks to a grant from Houston Arts Alliance.
It’s situated at the starting line. For a three-hour period before the parade begins, kids can weave in and out of the parked cars, make
art projects and listen to live music.
“It is something that really does promote the artist in everyone,” says Jonathan Beitler, spokesperson for the Art Car Parade. “If you’re wanting to expose your kids to art, but maybe you feel a little hesitant about bringing them to a museum or gallery, this is the perfect opportunity to experience art, literally, on the street.”
Make your own mini-art car
The kids’ zone has its own restrooms. For families who want to stay for the parade, there is also reserved seating. Available online until they sell out, bleacher-style seats next to the kids’ zone are $30 per person and partially shaded by trees.
At 11:30 a.m., the Houston Youth Symphony Coda Program takes the stage inside the kids’ zone. At 12:50 p.m., the performer behind The Alchemy Piano Theater will invite kids to join her on stage to sing. The final act is Girls Rock Camp, made up of child musicians, at 1:15 p.m.
Kids can make art to take home. The Houston Museum of Natural Science will set up a bike with pedals that power paint strokes. Another tent will offer art making with sand. There are STEM projects, including slime making, and giveaways.
Inspired by the parked vehicles they see — there are more than 250 this year — children can make their own art cars. Using toys that resemble Hot Wheels, they can decorate their miniature
vehicles with stickers, beads, jewels and other sparkly things they’ll find provided in buckets.
Experiencing what Beitler describes as a “unique form of art that is very Houston centric” can leave a lasting impression.
Or just make your own real art car
That’s the case with the Waters family and their Hippysaurus. When their eldest child, Sacha, was around 5 years old, she was mesmerized by a fire-breathing dinosaur during the family’s pre-parade stroll. A photograph of her admiring the art car was published in the Houston Chronicle.
“It’s kind of funny that it’s come full circle,” says Waters of the fiberglass dinosaur the family discovered in a Hill Country junkyard that they decided to turn into an art car.
The creature came from a 1960s dinosaur theme park in Sacramento, Calif., Waters learned. With trees growing through its rotting body and an unattached head, “it was a real mess,” she says, but “you could see it had been something extraordinary.”
Her husband, Lou Waters, a mechanical engineer, and son Luke, now 13, took the lead on the mechanics. They determined how to put its broken carcass back together and transport the massive dino to Houston using a crane. They affixed the parts to a moving vehicle and implemented hydraulics to lift its massive tail off the ground.
For her part, Waters worked with Sacha, now 16, and her other daughter, Thalie, 15, on the design.
Owing to the fact that “we’re not artists,” Waters says the trio decided to draw inspiration from hippie culture and cover the massive dino with sunflowers and rainbows, shapes they figured were simple enough to paint.
The family worked through their Thanksgiving and winter breaks from school, spending 10-hour days in cold weather, sanding, priming and patching.
“You would think kids would hate it and grumble and complain,” Waters says of their al fresco art project.
Conversely, “I think having that common purpose” bonded the family, she says. “It was such a gift to be outside to do that with them.” To pass the time, the family danced to pop music and told jokes.
“When you have teenagers, where the lure of electronics is so strong, to get to work together on a project that consumed all our spare time was amazing.”
Covering the horn on the tip of the nose with pieces of mirror, for example, took two weeks alone.
Families who come to the kids’ zone can meet the Waters and see their handiwork up close. Their art cars are numbers 83 and 84 in the parade.
How to watch the parade
Those who opt into the Bentley of parade-watching experiences, the VIPit, will see the cars from stadium seating on Hermann Square. Tickets to the contained VIP area are $150 for adults and $25 for kids. It includes primo seating, food and adult beverages, and kids’ activities, including making jewelry from junk and found objects with instruction from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.
To secure a free spot on the curb along the route (which starts on Allen Parkway, weaves through downtown and ends back on Allen Parkway) you’ll want to arrive early. The parade begins at 2 p.m., but the streets shut down around 12:45 p.m. Consider bringing folding chairs, water and sunscreen.
For downtown viewing, the best place to park is 1100 Smith. The charge is $10 and the garage is a short walk from the parade route. From the METRORail, the Main Street Square stop is the closest to the route.
No matter how they arrive,
budding young artists might find this parade the most inspiring yet.
The lineup boasts the highest number of student entries to date. Guided by their art teachers, students ranging from elementary school to college submitted 40 vehicles this year. One created by students at Houston Community College is called Carnival Bike, featuring three bicycle wheels and a miniature Ferris wheel.
“So much of art is about great ideas, fun and originality,” Waters says.