2026 Houston Art Car Parade: World's biggest art car celebration rolls through streets of downtown

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The world's biggest celebration of art cars and innovative vehicles rolled through downtown Houston on Saturday, April 11.

The 39th Annual Houston Art Car Parade, presented by Team Gillman, is one of the city's largest free public art events, drawing more than 300,000 people each year.

The 39th annual parade featured over 250 art cars and other entries from 23 states, in addition to international vehicles from Canada and Mexico.

Each vehicle is an original work of moving art, designed by hundreds of passionate artists.

From canvas to art car! Westbury High School students recreate famous masterpieces using pennies and beads.

In years past, we've seen art cars sculpted to resemble dogs, bananas, and one fiery show stopper: the rising phoenix.

We've also seen some very Houston-centric designs, from NASA space shuttles to art cars adorned with the colors of our Astros, Texans, Rockets, Dynamo, and Dash teams.

Winter is coming to the 2026 Art Car Parade! Check out this Night King-inspired design by Spring artist Kimi Bainter.

While some artists opt to use temporary materials, such as paper, tape, and even sugary Peeps marshmallows, others completely transform their vehicles with recycled materials, turning them into traveling art sculptures.

From the werejaguar to the corn god and fish monster! Tanglewood MS students create stone-like sculptures inspired by ancient symbols.

The winners

Curtis Paskey of the Rooster Wrench Garage took home the most prestigious award of the event - the Ann Harithas Legacy Award for "Best in Show" for the Dreamliner/Cosmic Love Shack.

The top art car award went to three cars: those created by students from Alief Elsik High School in Houston, Da Vinci Design, a high school in the Los Angeles area, and first-time participant Alice Garcia-Gordon.

Those three shared the prize for their respective creations - "Our myriad of cultures, our myriad of strengths" by Elsik High School, "California Dream'n" by Da Vinci Design, and "Looksy" by Garcia-Gordon.

If you didn't get a chance to watch the parade on Saturday, ABC13 will be airing a one-hour special on April 26, at 11 p.m.

"I like to be a little flashy:" With shiny paint and popping hydraulics, every lowrider tells a unique story mixing art and culture.