HOUSTON, Texas — Thalie Waters is familiar with the Houston Art Car Parade because her family has entered impressive art cars like The Phoenix and Hippysaurus before. This time, Thalie is taking the lead on her own project for the parade by turning an old plane into a vibrant piece of art.
“The Art Car parade has always held a special place in my heart because as a child, it was an annual tradition for us in April,” shared Thalie. “When I was in middle school, we worked on our first art car. I enjoyed the process so much that now having my own project is truly thrilling.”
Her creation, named “Flying High”, showcases a biplane creatively painted and mounted on an electric trolley motor and frame. When the parade kicks off, the plane will demonstrate movements mimicking flight by tilting and rolling, adding a dynamic element to the display.
“When we found this plane, probably the two people who were most excited about it were me and my dad,” said Thalie. “We have a shared love of aviation and planes and those sorts of things.”
Thalie teamed up with her dad on the project, who is helping out as a fabricator and mechanic.
“When she had the idea for this project, which is a follow on some other art cars we’ve done, I couldn’t wait to get started on it with her,” said Lou Waters, Thalie’s dad.
The Waters family bought the biplane from Facebook marketplace. It was experimentally built in Kansas back in the 1970s, and has flown about 100 hours in the air.
“I’m very excited to get to sit there and drive it and realize that this is a creation I’ve brought to life,” said Thalie. “And then to get to present that to my community, in the place that I’ve grown up and lived my whole life, I think that will be very special. I’m very excited.”
“The Art Car Parade is awesome,” said Lou. “Please come out and see it. It’s so much fun. Its such great people. Houston is just an amazing city with so many things going on and this is truly one of the pinnacles of our art scene.”
The Houston Art Car Parade is on Saturday, April 2, at 2pm. The event is one of the city’s largest free public events, drawing more than 300,000 people each year.
You can watch the Houston Art Car Parade anywhere you stream Eyewitness News, including Roku and Fire Stick. Just search “ABC13 Houston” in your app store.
