Houston’s Bayou City Arts Festival to Return October 2021

Usually held in the spring and fall, the Art Colony Association’s Bayou City Art Festival Downtown announced that it will return for its in-person event in October, 2021. Last March, the pandemic forced the spring Bayou City Art Festival — which is held in Houston’s Memorial Park and was scheduled for March 27-29 of 2020 — to be canceled. Then an anonymous donor gifted $450,000 to the organization, which used the money to grant $1,500 to each of the more than 300 artists registered to exhibit during the spring event.

During the ongoing pandemic, the Memorial Park festival has been reimagined as a series of virtual as well as small in-person events.

Says Kelly Batterson, Executive Director of the Art Colony Association: “For now, we remain committed to our mission of supporting artists, celebrating performing arts, giving back to local nonprofits and inspiring young artists who rely on art organizations for inspiration and support in this unprecedented time. We look forward to welcoming our artists, sponsors, guests and nonprofit partners back to an in-person festival in the fall when we anticipate the City of Houston will allow large in-person gatherings.”

Says City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner: “The pandemic has devastated special events, arts organizations, and individuals in one way or another. That’s why I encourage people to continue wearing a face mask and to follow other health and safety protocols. As we monitor the pandemic, we must crush community spread and lower the positivity rates before we can return to enjoy our favorite in-person events, such as the Bayou City Art Festival.”

For more information, please visit www.artcolonyassociation.org.

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Since the founding of the Westheimer Art Festival, now known as Bayou City Art Festival, the Art Colony Association, Inc. has raised more than $3.6 million for local nonprofit programs from the proceeds of its festivals. Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park in the spring and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown in the fall has provided a venue for more than 20,000 artists to showcase their work to thousands of art lovers from all over the world. The festivals are funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, corporate sponsorships, private contributions, in-kind support and volunteer assistance.