salvadorsilvan, Via Colori HoustonThis weekend, bundle up and take the family to Via Colori–Houston’s only two day street painting festival. All weekend long there are interactive activities, live music, great food and incredible artists building masterpieces from scratch! I’ve been nearly every year for as long as I can remember and I’m amazed more and more each year. Artists travel in from all over the world to participate. Some create 3D pieces, some draw up some treasured icons of American culture, some create extremely detailed recreations of famous paintings. You never know what you’ll see–but I can guarantee you it will be great.

 

So, here are some tips from a veteran of Via Colori.

  • The festival is free! But, bring cash! You’ll have to pay for parking, snacks, drinks and what not throughout the day. There will most likely be ATMs on site, but it’s better for everyone if you already have it on hand.
  • If you don’t want to hassle with parking in a lot or finding street parking (then walking in the cold), give Uber a call. They will drop you off and pick you up right at the front gate–can’t get much better than that! Just tell them you’re headed to City Hall, downtown. The address is in my event posting.
  • Prepare to be there for some hours–you’ll walk it once and then want to go back and see how much further they’ve gotten. Some pieces aren’t completed until Sunday, some artists knock them out in one day.
  • Dress Warm! Bring scarves! Gloves! Boots!

Be sure to check out some of the live music this weekend too:

MAIN STAGE

 SATURDAY                                                                  SUNDAY

12:00 – 1:00 Lone Star Hippies 12:00 – 12:45 Espantapajaros
1:30 – 2:30 Eric Demmer and The Sax Dawgs 1:15 – 2:15 Level One Band
3:00 – 4:15 La Sien 2:45 – 3: 30 Aves Wing
4:45- 6:00 Jerk Store 4:00 – 5: 00 Positive Disturbance

LOUNGE STAGE

 SATURDAY                                                                         SUNDAY

12:15 – 1:15 Steve Gilbert 11:00- 12:00 Libby Koch
1:45 – 2:45 Lucas Eason and the Panhandlers 12:30 – 1:30 Guitarzza
3:15 – 4:15 The Mighty Orq 2:00 – 3:00 Colonial Blue
4:45 – 5:45 Hybrid Soulz 3:30 – 4:30 John Egan

 COMMUNITY STAGE

Various local and family friendly community acts scheduled throughout each day starting at noon, likeThe Rice Philharmonics, Soaring Phoenix, Soul Street Dance, MET too Youth Company, Dance of Asian America, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, KIPP Jazz Band, as well as a special performance by the students at the Melinda Webb School at the Center for Hearing and Speech, arranged by American Festival for the Arts.

What’s a #TuesdayTease? Every Tuesday, I post a video from a band that will be coming to a stage near you soon. If you’re here, you love live music. So, let’s get pumped together for all the fantastic shows that happen around Houston, from local musicians to touring musicians.

Connect with Via Colori on facebook and  twitter.

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