ArtCar Parade parks in Silver Bay

SILVER BAY, MN. (Northern News Now) - Silver Bay hosted the 29th Annual ArtCar Parade this week.

Eleven artists from all over Minnesota drove up the North Shore to feature their colorful cars.

Each vehicle is designed with a unique theme.

The event’s organizer and one of the featured artists, Patti Paulson, said inspiration can come from anywhere - even a giant tube of lipstick.

“I thought, huh, that would look really cool on my car,” Paulson said, “And then I just wrote on the hood ‘The Lipstick Car’ in lipstick. And then I thought, huh, I could put a kiss there.”

The decor is not just for the shows.

Many of the artists, including Paulson, drive around their works of art to run everyday errands.

“I get this reaction from people when I’m driving down the road where they can’t believe it. So, they slow down, and then back up, and then they get closer again to get a better look. Sometimes [they] switch lanes to go around and see it from the other side,” said Paulson.

The artists want the public to interact with their art in more ways than through the rearview mirror.

“Kids started rearranging the magnets on my car. That made it even more enjoyable for me to see people co-creating the ArtCar they wanted,” said Jack Becker, artist of the Chroma Car.

Paulson hopes the show will push others to test drive their own creativity.

“I wanted to offer something for free to the public because everybody wants your money. What we want is we want to share this joy and love of art and to bring it to people’s attention,” said Paulson.

Click here to download the Northern News Now app or our Northern News Now First Alert weather app.

Copyright 2023 Northern News Now. All rights reserved.