On a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon, a small group of our Intensive English students met up at Sam Houston Park to watch the annual Art Car Parade go by. A Houston tradition, the Art Car Parade (having its 38th iteration this year) is a creative and collaborative display of all forms of art cars.
Many of the over 200 vehicles on parade each year are the creative genius of local artists, but others travel across the country to make it into town in time to display their creations.
Students and teachers from the Intensive English Program organized an outing to watch the parade this past weekend for the first time in program history. Students watched with excitement as each wacky, colorful, and astounding car made its way past their viewing spot!
Among the many cars, some notable student favorites were a car decorated with giant peacock feathers, a car with a bust of Vincent van Gogh on its roof, and a car fully decked out in Houston Astros themed accessories.
At the parade, a variety of food options were present for students to have some lunch without fear of missing out on any of the excitement. Typically, local food trucks from around the Houston area park along the parade route to offer a culinary myriad of choices, while street vendors also make their way around with hot dogs and other quick bites on offer.
The parade route also offers a variety of activities for families and kids, including a small souvenir tent where shirts and other trinkets are on sale. The cool shade of the trees surrounding Sam Houston Park proved a great viewpoint for students to watch the entire parade and take part in everything the afternoon had to offer.
As the parade reached its end, our small group of students disbanded, heading home to enjoy the rest of the weekend. For more art car excitement, there is sure to be another parade around the same time next year! But, if you’re lucky, you can even spot individual art cars driving around the Houston area throughout the year.
There are always more fun and exciting social activities coming up in future sessions, giving students the opportunity to not only practice their English outside the classroom setting, but to also experience some of Houston’s most iconic and memorable events and things to do.
By Hadrian Barbosa