Twice a year, Houston is home to Bayou City Art Festival — the downtown version in the fall and at Memorial Park in the spring. The weather should be perfect for the 41st annual Bayou City Art Festival October 13-14, plus kids are free! This fabulous outdoor art fest features something for everyone:

• Fabulous art – 300 artists representing 17 media formats. This year’s featured artist is Charlie Hardwick, a nationally recognized, legally blind poster artist.
• Creative Zone — hands-on kids’ art activities by 11 local nonprofits.  Projects range from wax hands and sun photos to quilting block and ornamental rocks! Check out the complete list of kids’ art activities online.
• Music — multi-cultural musical performances throughout the weekend
• Food & Wine — the Art of Food and the Art of Wine features some amazing festival food and drink

Hours are 10 am – 6 pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults (cash only at the gate) and kids are free. Purchase tickets online in advance here if you want to use a credit card. Fee is $12 per ticket + $2 each online fee. Parking is available on the street or theater district lots for a fee.

Bayou City Art Festival weekends are certainly a Houston favorite, but the best part is the festivals have raised more than $2.6 million for local nonprofit organizations through the years.

Contest: The folks at Bayou City Art Festival are providing two pairs of tickets to giveaway at Houston on the Cheap ($24 value per winner). Simply leave a comment on this blog post to enter to win. Contest ends Tuesday, October 9, 9 pm CST. One comment per person. Extra comments will be deleted. Please do not enter if you cannot attend the Festival Saturday or Sunday.

Winner will be randomly selected by my blog app, And the Winner Is. Winner will receive an email and be announced on this site. If winner does not respond in 48 hours, I will select another winner.

photo courtesy Bayou City Art Festival