Bayou City Art Festival in October will be a virtual event, organizers say

The Bayou City Art Festival, originally scheduled for Oct. 10-11 in downtown Houston, will be a virtual-only experience this year, the Art Colony Association Inc. announced Aug. 4.

“The decision to convert our Bayou City Art Festival Downtown to a virtual experience was difficult, but the health and safety of our community and our festival family is our top priority,” Executive Director Kelly Batterson said in a news release.

The Bayou City Art Virtual Experience is scheduled for Oct. 5-11, featuring an art auction, performances, art projects for kids of all ages and more activities.

With the transition, the organization is also launching a fundraising campaign, "Save Our Art—One Passion. One Purpose. One Community" in partnership with the city of Houston to support the arts.

The group's March event, usually held in Memorial Park, was also canceled at the beginning of the Houston-area outbreak of COVID-19. An anonymous donor stepped up to pay up to $1,500 to each of the 300 or so vendors who would have participated.

All tickets to 2020 events that were purchased will be honored in 2021, according to the news release.