At M2L Associates, we love McGregor Park for the many ways it celebrates community and connection for parkgoers of all ages. Saturday’s inaugural Houston Art Bike Parade and Festival is just one more reason for Houstonians to get to know and love this gem in the Houston parks system.
The Houston Art Bike Festival was organized in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, Houston Parks Board, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to explore personal creativity, promote health and wellness and celebrate the artist in everyone. Mayor Sylvester Turner officially kicked off the festivities, after which the parade of art bikes rolled out on the bike route along Brays Bayou Greenway from MacGregor Park through Fonde Park to Smither Park. All ages and abilities rode in the parade, including students, families and faculty representing HISD schools.
Hoping to build on the enormous popularity of the annual Art Car Parade while bringing attention to Houston’s growing network of bike trails, organizers of the Houston Art Bike Parade billed the event as “a city-wide celebration of human-powered art on wheels.” Postponed twice because of the pandemic, the event included live music, interactive art and food trucks across the three park venues.
Bike riders were given few rules to limit their artistry. Any human-powered uni- , bi- , tri- , quad- , or multi-wheeled cycle or contraption that could be moved or ridden was legal, according to the rules. All levels of art transformation were encouraged, from the minimal to the completely transformed, with materials such as paint, metal, sculpture, foam, wood, and embellishments of any kind.
For M2L Associates, serving as lead consultant on the MacGregor Park Master Plan, the Art Bike Parade was another prime opportunity to educate the community about planned improvements and renovations in the next phases of the master plan. M2L principals Michael Mauer and Wen-Ping Hung were on hand Saturday with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Friends of MacGregor Park and other key stakeholders to get feedback and answer questions face to face.
“Seeing Houston show up at MacGregor Park for the first-ever Art Bike Parade demonstrates the community’s strong commitment to the park and dovetails with the feedback we’ve received that people of all ages are looking for opportunities to connect with their families, neighbors and new people at fun, free outdoor events like this,” Mauer said. “Today’s strong turnout is an exciting sign of things to come for MacGregor Park.”