Tater Nation!! This is #spudicus coming at you live from the I-20 in Alabama! We are headed out from Houston, TX, where we had the opportunity to participate in the Houston Art Car Parade presented by the Orange Show for Visionary Arts! We had an art-filled weekend, including all the great Houston art cars and the Tater Team’s contribution to the spirit of art and creativity!
We arrived in Houston and we immediately felt welcomed by the friendly people, great food, and the cool downtown scene! I was fanboying over all the nearby sports arenas and stadiums that were so close to our hotel! We had a few days to eat and hang out before we had to get back to work. And by work I mean painting! As a personal Tater Team contribution to the Houston Art Car Parade, each team member painted their own interpretation of one of the three Idaho exclusive elements that make an Idaho potato so great! The opponents of course being the hot days and cool nights, the mountain fed spring water and the volcanic soil! We all hung out in my hotel room and had a lot of fun getting creative with our pieces!
That same day we had some time to get some footage shot for Houston’s ABC13 news channel! We met up with the ABC13 reporters Briana Conner and Adam Winkler to give them the scoop on our 4-ton tater and to talk to them about being in the parade. They were very charming, and it was great to see them get excited about the potato truck as we do!
That night we went to the Legendary Art Car Ball where we got a sneak peak of all the entries that were going to be in the parade! There were some great pieces from a car that had used action figures and toys affixed to it, to a giant Terminator looking steer that shot fire out of its horns!! At the Ball, The team got to catch some great musical performances by Golden Dawn Arkestra and The Bayou City Comeback Chorus!
All of these events lead up to the day of the Houston Art Car Parade! We got to see all the artists driving their cool cars all around Downtown Houston! The Potato Truck brought up the very end of the parade since we were so big! It was fun to feel like we were the grand finale and watch all the parade goers witness our giant art truck! We had some issues getting the truck around some tight corners downtown but between #spudracer’s pro driving skills and the help of parade volunteers on bikes, we were able to safely maneuver the tight corners of Houston! We had a lot of impressed viewers and it was great to be part of such a fun event!
I want to extend a big shout-out to the Schofields who created our beautiful potato sculpture, which allowed us to be part of the Houston Art Car Parade! It was an honor to be around so many great artists and be a part of such a grand entry in the Parade! Next week, stop by the blog to hear from #tinytater about our time on our Food City in Tour in Tennessee and Virginia!
