Thousands of spectators lined the streets of downtown Houston on April 11 as devotees from ISKCON Houston brought kirtan, Lord Jagannath, and thousands of pieces of prasadam to the annual Houston Art Car Parade, one of the world’s largest public celebrations of mobile art. Marking three decades of participation in the internationally known event, devotees this year added a large Jagannath chariot to their decorated parade float, creating a colorful outreach effort that combined chanting, Deity darshan, and large-scale prasadam distribution for Houston’s diverse festival audience.
What began decades ago as a local artistic experiment has grown into one of Houston’s largest public events. In 1986, after an aging vehicle was donated to a local arts organization, an artist transformed it into a moving work of art, helping spark the first Art Car parades. Beginning with only a few dozen decorated vehicles, the annual event now draws up to 300 art cars and approximately 200,000 spectators each April, making it the largest gathering of its kind in the world.
For nearly 30 years, ISKCON Houston devotees have participated in the parade, chanting on decorated moving trailers and distributing prasadam along the route. This year’s effort included a large chariot brought from North Carolina by Jagat-purusa Dasa carrying Lord Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra. Devotees also distributed 10,000 pieces of peanut butter fudge prasadam to the enthusiastic, multi-ethnic crowd gathered along the two-mile route.
“It was impressive to see how the people at the Art Car Parade in Houston were so favorable to the devotees and Their Lordships,” said Jagat Purusha Das.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-houston-marks-nearly-30-years-at-art-car-parade/
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