Overview Bayou City Art Festival is Houston's signature fine art festival, held twice a year: in the fall under the trees of Memorial Park and in the spring in Sam Houston Park, with the downtown skyline behind it. Each edition brings in hundreds of juried artists from across the country working in a wide range of disciplines, from painting and sculpture to jewelry, glass and photography. The nonprofit Art Colony Association produces both festivals and shares proceeds with local nonprofit partners. On site Visitors walk rows of artist tents, meet the makers and buy original work. Live music plays on the main stage, food trucks line the grounds, chefs cook and serve samples at the Chef's Table stage downtown, and kids make art for free in the Active Imagination Zone. A VIP Hospitality Lounge offers shade, seating, private music, beer, wine and lunch. Sponsors can take a 10x10 or 10x20 booth for sampling, put a vehicle display on site, or own a named piece of the festival such as the stage, the kids zone, the VIP lounge or the volunteer program. Audience Houston art buyers, families and young professionals, most of them from the Houston metro. Free kids' admission programs and the Active Imagination Zone bring in parents with children, while the VIP lounge draws collectors who want to spend the whole day. The fall edition in Memorial Park is the larger of the two. Talent and Influencers Artists are chosen by a jury that scores every application blind, and each festival names a Featured Artist whose work becomes the festival's poster art. The Emerge program gives artists new to the festival circuit their own section, a middle school art competition puts student finalists' work in an outdoor gallery with prizes awarded on site, and local chefs run live demonstrations on the culinary stage. Track record The festival has been part of Houston's calendar for more than 50 years and has given millions of dollars back to local nonprofits through its partner program. It is ranked among the top fine art festivals in the country by Sunshine Artist, and it takes more than 500 volunteers to run each edition. Brand presence Recent partners include Stella Artois, Dr Pepper, Gatorade, Muscle Milk, KHOU 11, AARP Houston, Renewal by Andersen, Power Home Remodeling, LeafFilter, Mendocino Farms and Cotton Culinary, with support from the City of Houston and the Memorial Park Conservancy. Sponsorships run from the digital Friends of the Festival level up to the Presenting Sponsor, which covers both festivals, and custom packages are available.