The Main Street Drag is the community outreach program for the annual Orange Show Art Car Weekend.

Every year on the Friday before the parade, art cars parade through the Texas Medical Center to bring a little art car magic to kids who can't make it downtown for the big parade.

Jeffrey Jerome the Memorial Pig Car by Rev. Bryan Taylor, The Pez Car by Cliff Lee, Hope Springs Eternal by Beth Heller and The Buffalo Bug by Beverly Hayes were in attendance in 1997 when art cars visited Texas Children's Hospital.

Most kids at Texas Children's are unable to leave their hospital beds let alone journey outside to look at cars. Nonetheless, about a dozen children came down with the assistance of family and hospital volunteers.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Orange Show Art Car Weekend, committee members Harry Leverette and Penny Smith expanded the program for the 1998 Main Street Drag. A week before the parade, art car artists Perri Harper joined Penny Smith at Texas Children's Hospital to distribute an art car activity kit. With the kind assistance of hospital volunteer Mike O'Brien, over 150 kids received art car stickers, Dusty Dave's Art Car Coloring Book, some crayons, and an art car postcard. An Art Car Resource Kit including Harrod Blank's two videos, the Ineri Foundation's art car book, and the Orange Show RoadGuide was donated to the hospital library.

On Monday, April 13, a mini Art Car Festival was held for the residents of
The Houston Ronald MacDonald House. Brief presentations were given by Harry Leverette, Beth Secor of The Orange Show and Shelley Buschur, co-founder of the Bicycles to Bosnia Project. Art cars will return to Ronald MacDonald House in the future to paint a car with the kids!

Finally, on Friday the traditional Main Street Drag event begins at The Children's Museum as a motorcade leading through the Texas Medical Center with a visit to the Shriner's Children Hospital. The motorcade then continues down Main Street and ends at Market Square with lunch at Treebeard's Restaurant. Special thanks to Dan Tidwell of Treebeards for donating lunch!

After lunch, the troupe sets off on an Eye Opener's Tour of folk art environments in Houston's inner city neighborhoods. The Tour concludes with a visit to the Ineri Foundation's new Art Car Museum.

Unless otherwise noted, all images are copyrighted by the artists and/or
by Pineapple Publishing and Consulting
Art Cars in Cyberspace ©2004 Pineapple Publishing and Consulting
Contact us at artcars@artcars.com

Last update April 1, 2004