FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2012 HOUSTON ART CAR PARADE WINNERS ANNOUNCED Over $18,000 in prize money awarded to outstanding artists

HOUSTON (May 17, 2012) – Saturday May 12th marked the 25th Anniversary of the Houston Art Car Parade presented by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, the largest and oldest parade of its kind in the world. This yearʼs event featured 277 entries from all over the country, including 126 that had never participated in the Houston Art Car Parade before. Houston Mayor Annise Parker led the charge and waved to the crowd of near 300,000 in Steve Braithwaiteʼs “Big Banana Car,” joining co-Grand Marshals Houston Texans players J.J. Watt & Connor Barwin who cruised in David Best and Gregory Fleemanʼs “Big Noise From Biloxi,” a first place winner in 2007. The following day, the Orange Show awarded over $18,000 in prize money to artists after a judging process that included criteria such as overall theme, craftsmanship, design, originality and transformation. The 2012 Houston Art Car Parade judges included Art Car Museum founder Ann Harithas, Orange Show founder and celebrated art collector Marilyn Oshman, Orange Show supporter and arts patron Manny Sanchez, sculptor and University of Houston professor Kaneen Smith and photographer Irv Tepper. Taking the top award of the year, the Mayorʼs Cup, that included a $2000 cash prize, was the exquisite “Mr. Green,” a 12.5-foot tall walking and screeching monster created by renowned Houston artist Mark “Scrapdaddy” Bradford. Bradford and his wife Nicole both rode on the entry, Nicole controlling Mr. Green with “reins” and Mark controlling him with a series of intricate shifts and levers. The entry was created entirely of recycled scrap metal and made itʼs debut in this yearʼs parade. An hour-long special of this yearʼs Houston Art Car Parade, featuring interviews with local artists and history of the Orange Show and the Houston Art Car Parade, will air this Sunday May 20th at 6pm CST on KIAH-TV CW39. Below is the complete list of winners in all 14 categories: Mayorʼs Cup - $2000 prize and Grand Trophy Entry #126 - “Mr. Green” by Mark “Scrapdaddy” Bradford (Houston, TX) First Place Art Cars - $1500 prize and Grand Trophy Entry #3 - “The Big Banana” by Steve Braithwaite (Coopersburg, PA) Entry #214 - “Low Rider from Corpus Christie” by The Leal Brothers (Corpus Christi, TX) Entry #120 – “Earth, Wind and Fire… and Water” by Jefferson Davis High School under the direction of Rebecca Bass and Paloma Garner, and sponsored by vitaminwater (Houston, TX) Entry #77 – “The Gold Digger” by John Avanzini (Fort Worth, TX)

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Media Contacts: Katy Mayell

713-978-5050 katy@onthemarkcom.com

Jonathan Beitler

832-964-9932 jonathan@jonathanbeitler.com

2/ART CAR PARADE WINNERS

Second Place Art Cars Entry #41 – “Radio Flyer Wagon” by Bob Castanada (Alameda, CA) Entry #239 – “Mayan Temple Art Car” by Dennis McNett (Brooklyn, NY) Entry #169 – “Tired and Feathered” by Joe Haden (Crockett, TX) Entry #189 – “Regina the Hippo Car” by Cliff Portis, owned by Mary Jane Hedke (Buda, TX) Third Place Art Cars Entry #18 – “Brunnehildaʼs Encore” by Houston Grand Opera (Houston, TX) Entry #100 – “Centenni-Owl” by Rice University Art Car Class (Houston, TX) Entry #20 – “A Little Bit of Nonsense” by Randy Blair (Katy, TX) Entry #177 – “Sentra-saurus” by Carrie Moschitto, owned by Perri Harper (Houston, TX) Low Rider Performance - $1,500 prize Entry #58 – “The Boss” by Sheila Villarreal (Houston, TX) Low Rider Appearance First Place - $1500 prize Entry #212 – “Low Rider from Corpus Christie” by The Leal Brothers (Corpus Christi, TX) Second Place Entry #213 – “Low Rider from Corpus Christie” by The Leal Brothers (Corpus Christi, TX) Third Place Entry #157 – “Azteca Gold” by Jesus Jimenez (Houston, TX) Contraption First Place - $1000 prize Entry #21 – “Fried Chicken” by Bob Wink (Bellville, TX) Second Place Entry #14 – “Oscar the Friendly Dragon” by Julian Luna (Houston, TX) Third Place – Tie Entry #98 – “The Lazy Manʼs Ladder” by Larry Carpenter (Houston, TX) Entry #152 – “Pop Art Cart” by Harry “Bruiser” Goldberg (Houston, TX) Cycle First Place - $500 prize Entry #114 – “Manvel High School Art Bikes” by Manvel High School (Houston, TX) Second Place Entry #19” – A Little Bit More Nonsense” by Jonathan Blair (Katy, TX) Third Place Entry #39 – “Sofacycle” by Julian Luna and Rebecca Bass (Houston, TX)

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3/ART CAR PARADE WINNERS

Daily Driver Art Car First Place - $1250 prize Entry #202 – “Vanadu” by Clarke Bedford (Hyattsville, MD) Second Place Entry #87 – “Skully” by Mark Esteban (Houston, TX) Third Place Entry #208 – “Dizzy” by Jared Nicholson (Salt Lake City, UT) Painted Car First Place – $1200 prize Entry #61 – “Mi Vida” by Johnny Herrera (Houston, TX) Second Place Entry #288 – “Jazz, An American Phenomenon” by Charles Washington (Houston, TX) Third Place Entry #136 – “Bubbles LaRue” by Robynn Sanders, owned by Karen Olds (Houston, TX) Music First Place - $750 prize Entry #295 – “The Tom Kennedy Space Bus” by Larry White, Adam Adams and Monica Acuna (Houston, TX) Second Place Entry #233 – “Last Concert Caféʼs Journey to the Other Side featuring The Hightailers and The Tribal Lillies” by Dawn Fudge and gang (Houston, TX) Third Place Entry #255 – “The Fighting Fish Tank” by Leif Hart, owned by Andrew Levy (Morristown, NJ) Performance First Place - $500 prize Entry #270 – “Melvin The Worldʼs Only Wacky Wheeler” by Robert Sommerbell (Madison, WI) Second Place Entry #247 – “Q-Festʼs Mommie D” by Chicano Laundry and Stephanie Saint Sanchez (Houston, TX) Third Place Entry #167 – “The Cowboy Dave Show” by David Gregory (Houston, TX) Freedom of Speech First Place - $500 prize Entry #179 – “Driving + Texting = Wrexting” by Madeline and Paul Galindo

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4/ART CAR PARADE WINNERS

Second Place (Houston, TX) Entry #80 – “420 Truth Car from Dallas/Ft. Worth” by DFW NORML and David Sloan (Dallas, TX) Third Place Entry #25 – “Women Rock Art Car” by Bonnie Blue (Houston, TX) Youth Group First Place - $1000 prize Entry #27 – “Chopper Shop” by Workshop Houston (Houston, TX) Second Place Entry #119 – “Poe Art Car Art Car” by Poe Elementary under direction of Jonna Hitchcock (Houston, TX) Third Place Entry #105 – “The Music Monster” by Sharpstown International School (Houston, TX)

### About the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art Now in its 30th year, The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization based in Houston, TX with a mission to preserve, promote and document visionary art environments, provide opportunities for the expression of personal artistic vision and create a community where that expression is valued. The Orange Show owns and operates The Orange Show monument, The Beer Can House and Smither Park, as well as produces the Houston Art Car Parade - the world’s oldest and largest event of its kind. For more information, visit them online at www.orangeshow.org. Funding is provided in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Brown Foundation, Houston Endowment, The Cullen Foundation, Wortham Foundation, Silver Eagle Distributors, Ann and James Harithas and Marilyn Oshman as well as private contributions, in-kind support, and volunteer assistance. The Orange Show is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition. In addition, the following organizations were sponsors of the 2012 Houston Art Car Parade and Weekend: United Airlines, CW39, Shock Top, Texas Monthly, 90.1 KPFT, Houston Arts Alliance, Discovery Green, Houston Chronicle, 29-95.com, IKEA, Houston Blues Society, Culturemap, Free Press Houston, City ArtWorks, Saint Arnold, Momentum Volkswagen, vitaminwater, Apache Oil, and the City of Houston through the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. Without sponsors, this free gift to the people of Houston would not be possible.