A tribute to legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix has earned students from Reagan High School the top prize at the 2015 Art Car Parade—on their very first try.
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“Electric Ladyland,” a 1981 Mercedes which was #106 in the parade lineup, was awarded the Mayor’s Cup Trophy and $2,000 in cash. It was the school’s first-ever entry into the parade, and its success was likely due to the guidance of veteran art-car builder Rebecca Bass, who was hired on a part-time basis by HISD this year especially to guide Reagan students in designing a car for this year’s parade. Visiting artist Johnny Rojas also contributed to the project.
“This is the 28th car I have made, and the 22nd I have made with HISD students, since 1990,” said Bass. “The kids came up with all the awesome ideas and we gathered stuff together to create the piece. And they did not do this for a grade. Eight students stayed after school every single day, spring break and all weekends since January. It was just incredible.”
Two other HISD campuses also earned awards in the annual event, which took place on April 11. Lovett Elementary School’s entry (#156), dubbed “OWLways a Good TIME,” earned first place and a $1,000 prize, while Davis High School’s entry (#110), called “Greek Gods Pimp Their Ride,” won second place in the “Best Youth Group” category. Those cars were created under the direction of teachers Rickey Polidore Jr. and Paloma Garner, respectively.
Other HISD schools with entries in the parade this year were: Durham Elementary School (#151), Herod Elementary School (#153), Oak Forest Elementary School (#158), and Sharpstown International School (#117).
You can see a list of all prize winners here, and a list of all parade entries (many with photos) here.