Houstonia’s The Must List tells you about something going on in Houston that you absolutely cannot miss.

For over 50 years, the Bayou City Art Festival has welcomed tens of thousands of art-loving Houstonians and tourists to its twice-a-year events, held downtown in the spring and at Memorial Park in the fall. Over the span of a weekend, attendees browse booths showcasing almost 300 artists from around the world, buying or commissioning one-of-a-kind works, raising money for local charities, eating from over 20 food stalls and trucks, jamming to live music, and watching kid and adult artists compete in juried competitions. The fall 2024 event takes place from October 11 through 13.

“I think it’s such a wonderful opportunity for people to come out to a unique event where they meet the actual artists who produce the art,” says Kelly Batterson, executive director of the nonprofit Art Colony Association, which has operated BCAF since 1994. “The artists have to be there. That’s one of the rules.”

The Memorial Park BCAF typically brings in around 20,000 people annually, while the downtown counterpart come springtime hosts between 15,000 and 17,000 people. While Batterson can’t officially claim that the festival is the biggest of its kind in Houston, if not Texas, she points out that the increased popularity over time is the reason why BCAF needed to move in the first place.

Originally named the Westheimer Colony Art Festival, the event began in 1972 in Montrose as a way to try and drum up patronage for nearby businesses. At the time, it was an eclectic assemblage of talents coming together to share their creative visions.

“You saw a little bit of everything. That was a little bit of a crazy time in Houston’s history,” Batterson says. “I’m talking about people wearing costumes, and people on their skates jousting in the street. It’s funny. We’ve got some crazy pictures from that time.”

This fall’s event involves partnerships with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Health Museum, the Women’s Fund, ArtReach, and Fresh Arts. These nonprofits will be receiving a portion of the proceeds raised over the weekend. Over the past five decades, the Art Colony Association has raised a total of $3.7 million for local 501(c)(3)s through BCAF, providing visitors a chance to support great causes alongside great art.

Every festival also centers a headlining artist. Chicago painter Karina Llergo featured in the spring, while fall will introduce Texas to Los Angeles–based Ash Beheshti’s work…and Beheshti to Texas in turn.

“I’ve been preparing for this show…[I’m] very, very excited about it. And you know what? I’ve never been to Texas before,” he says. “To be able to go to a different state and meet different people and different cultures is an amazing experience. I’m looking forward to that and learning more about Houston.”

A former interior decorator and furniture maker, Beheshti now works primarily in mixed media, with women and butterflies (usually together) making up his primary subject matter. He incorporates sheet music, newsprint, book pages and covers, and other ephemera into his works for a heightened sense of texture and flow.

“My goal is always to do it differently, make it more unique…I don’t like just traditional painting. I like working with my hands, building and constructing. So that’s why I enjoy the collage aspect of it. It’s like I’m building something. It’s not just brush strokes,” Beheshti says. “I’ve always been into fashion photography and dance poses.”

This dynamism in medium, color, form, and philosophy led Batterson and Art Colony Association artist relations manager Wendi Meisberger to him, and his subsequent honors as the fall 2024 featured artist.

“We’re always looking for something fresh, something that says who we [at BCAF] are,” Batterson says. “I fell in love with [Beheshti’s art] immediately. I love that old Hollywood part of his art… It is so bright and colorful.”

Beheshti credits the women in his life—particularly his mother—as well as those he admires from afar like Debbie Harry and Billie Holiday with inspiring his creations. BCAF visitors will have a chance to meet him in person and get to better understand the narratives that drive him as an artist.

That interactivity is, after all, among the festival’s core values. “You really get a story behind every single piece of art,” Batterson says.