Every April, Houstonians come together to celebrate the city’s rich history of art cars. While the Houston Art Car Parade is among the most popular attractions, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, which produces the annual event, has expanded the concept further into art bikes. Now in its third year, the Houston Art Bike Parade and Festival uplifts what Jonathan Beitler, the Orange Show’s director of communications and special events, refers to as “human-powered art on wheels.”

“We really are seeing the art bike parade as a community celebration,” he says. “It’s a day for people to get out and experience and use parks, be creative, and use biking as both a great way to exercise and for mental health, as well as for expressing your personal creativity.”

This year’s event will take place from 10am to 1pm (the parade starts at 10:15am) on Saturday, May 11, at MacGregor Park. It costs nothing to either attend or enter the parade and contest. Anyone interested in biking in the parade is still encouraged to sign up via the website ahead of time, however. Even if art bike fans don’t wish to take part in showcasing their creative skills by way of a bike, they can still come out to enjoy the parade and participate in some hands-on art projects, listen to musical performances, and enjoy food and drinks from a variety of food trucks and vendors.

“This is [the Art Car Parade’s] 37th year this year. It made sense to develop a fun new program that can engage people of all ages while also maintaining that same kind of spirit,” Beitler says. “Art cars have this unique spirit that really sort of captures the wonder and magic of creating art that's unusual and unexpected.”

The Art Bike Parade began as a collaboration between the Orange Show, the Houston Parks Board, and the Houston Independent School District, with the multi-pronged goal of encouraging more Houstonians to enjoy the outdoors, get some exercise, and explore their unique artistic voices.

As Beitler points out, involvement with HISD led to the development of an art bike curriculum that local educators can use to get students excited about the process of designing and building their own “moving sculptures.”

The parade usually attracts between 400 and 500 participants, with more than 100 area schools taking part.

“So many of the bikes that the schools have received have been donated, or maybe a PTA has given a bike to be used. The classrooms together will come up with the theme and the materials that they want to use,” Beitler says. “Then together they'll work on creating this sculpture… oftentimes you'll have the whole class riding on their own personal bikes.”

Since art bikes have a much lower barrier to entry than art cars, owing to both the lower cost and no driver’s license requirement, it’s easy for the members of the general public to participate in the parade. If you can ride a bicycle (or even a tricycle), then you can pilot an art bike. While the Art Car Parade is meant to be enjoyed by all ages, the Art Bike Parade can host riders of all ages. This results in a lot of creative, thoughtful, and even well-coordinated efforts from children and teens.

“You'll have huge groups of kids decorating their bikes in flowers and having the flower bike brigade, which is really fun,” Beitler says. “You'll have bikes that are built in the theme of what the school's mascot might be. So, whether it's a bear or a lion or a tiger, turning the bike into that creature is often really cool.”

This year, he’s especially excited for an art bike involving “a full band.” What that ultimately entails will be revealed on the parade day itself.

Beitler adds, “The beauty of it is that you're given the freedom, and you have very little restrictions when it comes to something like this—other than it needs to move on wheels, it needs to be powered by humans. So, you see just anything and everything.”