In Houston, unique cars are everywhere! Home to the largest Art Car Parade in the country, you’re likely to see Art Cars at various locations around town, but for a unique look at the Art Cars, you must visit the FREE Art Car Museum in the Heights!
The Houston Art Car Parade began in 1987, and gets bigger and better each year! Held in April, people bring their cars from all around to enjoy the fun and festivities! Click HERE to learn more about the Houston Art Car Parade!
The FREE museum, which not only displays Art Cars but also other fine arts, changes their displays with various themes each season. During our visit, the theme was animals.
“Faith” is a huge collaboration of different items and images, all tied together by the huge Cape Water Buffalo at the head of the car.
The time and detail that goes into these cars in amazing!
The Art Car Museum is very child friendly, as long as you can refrain from touching anything. I know plenty of 2-year-olds that wouldn’t have a problem remembering this, but I think my much older husband couldn’t make it through without touching something! Luckily for me, it was just my daughter and I visiting! We did get him an Art Car shirt, though!
The tail end of Faith is just amazing!
Shashimi Tabernacle Choir by Richard Carter is just a whole lot of fun! Each of the singing fish, lobsters, sharks and other animals are all connected together and synchronized to music! We were given a fun sample of all it can do, and the fish squirm and the lobsters stand up, it’s really amazing! You can google many different performances on You Tube!
The top of the car, but all the animals move with the music!
Over 250 animals are on the car, all attached
These guys are kinda cute up close!
There are unique pieces of art in the museum, too. It’s all centered around a central theme, and changes out each season.
Perhaps the Easter Bunny of your nightmares, artist Larry Fuentes’ Rex Rabbit watches over his little collection of other bunnies with his razor sharp fangs and jaws that snap shut!
It makes you wonder if he only started off with 2 bunnies on the car…….
I love all the extra touches and detail in Rex’s face, giving him such a sweet look, if it wasn’t for those teeth! When the teeth are shut, you’d just want to go over and snuggle!
I heard more than one man exclaim, “I need that” as he walked past this arrangements of televisions.
Each November, the Art Car Museum celebrates World Art Car Day with fun displays of cars and a special event for kids to decorate their own little mini cars!
And this dog and ball was fun.
One of the things I love about the Art Car Museum is that all their work is uncurated. An open call goes out announcing the theme, and the first 100 artist to sign up get their art displayed. This assures that many artist who would never get a chance to have their art shown elsewhere have an opportunity here.
More To Do in Houston
Play
Buffalo Bayou Park is a linear park that runs along Buffalo Bayou with many things to do. Click HERE for more information.
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, part of the Houston Museum of Fine Art, is their center for American Decorative Arts, housed in the former Ima Hogg Mansion. Don’t miss their incredible Christmas Village each December. Click HERE for more information.
Houston Beer Can House is a fun adventure into the strange, and rather beautiful, creation of a house transformed by beer cans. Click HERE for more information.
Eat
Upon leaving, my first choice to eat was theme-driven, the Hubcap Grill (2.5 miles away), however they are closed on Sundays. The nearby Dunlavy has an amazing breakfast overlooking Buffalo Bayou Park. Click HERE for more information.
The Spaghetti Western Italian Cafe and Sammy’s Wild Game Grill are also both recommended and nearby.
Stay
During our most recent visit to the Art Car Museum, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, which we love. If you’re looking for something a little more intimate, click HERE to check out Sara’s Inn on the Boulevard, 1.3 miles from the Art Car Museum.
Art Car Museum
140 Heights Blvd., Houston
Click HERE to visit their website.
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
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