SPECIAL EVENTS

Menil Neighborhood Organizations are hosting their Third Annual Menil Community Arts Festival!

The Menil Collection museum and a group of surrounding non-profit arts organizations come together on Saturday, April 2, from 11a.m. to 5p.m. to host a free afternoon of art and entertainment that will extend across the Menil "campus" from West Alabama to Richmond Avenue.

Highlighting the diversity of the Menil neighborhood arts community, the festival will include films and performances, from a drum circle to literary readings, art sales, a book fair and art workshops.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
1 p.m. – 2p.m. Riyaaz Qawwali Concert presented by Rothko Chapel at Rothko Chapel Plaza
3 p.m. – 4p.m. Family Drum Circle with Sam Dinkins III presented by Da Camera of Houston at Rothko Chapel Plaza
11a.m. – 5p.m. Houston Indie Book Festival (with readings co-presented with Inprint) at the Menil Collection, East side of the building
11a.m. – 5p.m. Houston Center for Photography Collaborations VIII Print Sale at HCP
11a.m. – 5p.m. Watercolor Society- Houston Clothesline Art Sale at WAS-H

In addition to these performances and sales, attendees are invited to see the current exhibitions from The Menil Collection, the Watercolor Art Society - Houston and the Houston Center for Photography; as well as attend youth art workshops from Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), Friends of Mandell Park and Aurora Picture Show; film screenings with Aurora Picture Show and SWAMP; watermedia demonstrations by Watercolor Art Society – Houston; and creative writing tours with Writers in the Schools.

Snacks and refreshments will be available for sale at The Menil Collection Bookstore, and from food trucks parked around the campus. Picnics are also welcomed and encouraged at Menil Park and Mandell Park.

Limited street parking is available throughout the neighborhood. Paid parking is available at the University of St. Thomas. Visitors can park for free at the museum parking lot on West Alabama and Mulberry.

Participating organizations include Aurora Picture Show, Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, The Catastrophic Theater, Da Camera of Houston, Friends of Mandell Park, Inprint, Houston Center for Photography, Houston Indie Book Festival, the Menil Collection, Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA), the Rothko Chapel, Watercolor Art Society-Houston, and Writers in the Schools.

This festival is sponsored by Houston Realtor Mike Mahlstedt from Martha Turner Properties. Additional sponsors include KUHF-FM Radio, CultureMap, 29-95.com, and Art Lies Contemporary Art Quarterly, with additional support from Sharp Egg Design, Saint Arnold Brewery, and copy.com.

WHEN AND WHERE: (rain or shine)
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2nd
Menil Campus, from West Alabama to Richmond, centered around the Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross.

This event is free and open to the public.

For a full schedule, map, parking and picnic information visit www.menilcommunityartsfestival.org  or call 713-868-2101.