The HooHa started with a single home show I hosted in 2002. I'd just moved to a house (the old Parasol House) with an open floor plan – perfect to "set up shop" for the holidays. so I called a few artist friends and we had a Hooey Holiday Home Show. After I realized how many artists were in the area, the next year I contacted a few of them to see if they'd be interested in having open studios or open houses all on the same weekend. The Old East End Art HooHa was born!.

Although the event is still word-of-mouth, we continue to grow every year. This year we've added two downtown Urbana galleries (Cinema Gallery and Heartland Gallery), a home show (Jewels by Janice) and an open studio (Dragonfly Press).

The Art HooHa was created as an opportunity for people in the community to buy locally made artwork to give (or keep!) during the holidays. While we are united by our common love of art and hand-made things, each HooHa location operates independently, handling its publicity (postcards and emails to our customers) and hospitality (most locations serve holiday treats).