So gather up your costume and hop on your bike – New Belgium Brewing’s annual Parade Gone Mad returns to Fort Collins this Labor Day weekend, raising money for local nonprofit organizations working toward making communities more bikeable. Proceeds from beer and merchandise sales benefit these worthy causes!
Experience an enjoyable day filled with free festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement! The parade begins at 9:30 am from City Park, winds its way along Mountain Avenue, and then rolls to New Belgium Brewing for the post-parade festival.
What is Tour de Fat?
Fort Collins has long celebrated the joys of beer and bikes at New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat. The party, which comprises a bike parade, beer festival, costume contest, and fundraising for bicycle advocacy causes, now attracts hardcore cyclists as well as occasional dabblers alike and is recognized nationwide.
Colorado-based Voodoo Ranger IPA brewery hosts free festivities in DC for beer and bike lovers to come to celebrate beer, bikes, and bemusement – whether that means cycling in your clown pants or enjoying live music at this festive festival! It promises a fun time for all.
This year’s Old Town District Festival takes place September 2023 and begins with a parade featuring cyclists dressed in costumes from all walks of life starting at 9 am from Mountain Avenue and Meldrum Street corner, riding into Old Town District before swinging back towards brewery on Mountain Avenue.
After the parade, beer and fun continue at a festival that features food trucks and bands from across the nation – from reggae star Reggie Watts and his crew to Black Joe Lewis (funk/soul), Blind Pilot (indie folk), Le Tigre tent offers cabaret/comedy acts including Missy Elliott-style ventriloquism as well as not-scary clown The Unicorn Hour!
Tour de Fat also features fun, interactive activities like bike rodeos, where participants can ride bikes that swivel, go backward, and run on shoes. While admission is free, a $15 suggested donation supports local cycling advocates; pre-registering online yields sweet swag. You can help make this event possible by volunteering – 2-hour shifts include post-shift New Belgium beverages!
The Bike Parade
New Belgium Brewing’s annual Tour de Fat event returns for its 24th year, offering a day full of FREE festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement. Over its 20+ year history, Tour de Fat has raised nearly $6 Million for local bike non-profits nationally!
Starting the event is a costumed bike parade from City Park looping Mountain Ave before moving into New Belgium Brewing for music, entertainment, contests, games, and, of course, beer! A portion of proceeds from all TdF beer sales is donated back to local non-profit organizations such as Bike Fort Collins, Overland Mountain Bike Association, Fort Collins Bike CO-OP, and Send Town Bike Club – making this indeed an epic night!
Alongside the bike parade, this event includes a festival featuring live music by iconic bands (X Ambassadors and All American Rejects were featured last year), food trucks, dancing challenges, and slow riding competitions, as well as an abundant supply of Belgian beer – making this an excellent way to commemorate summer’s end and bring people together as college students return for fall studies – not forgetting it kickstarts Labor Day Weekend festivities too!
After 15 pedal-powered parades and beer fests in Tempe, Tour de Fat has decided to end its presence there but will continue its events in Fort Collins and Asheville instead. New Belgium remains committed to supporting Tempe nonprofit partners such as Tempe Bicycle Action Group and Central Arizona Mountain Bike Patrol with grants.
While we wait, Tour de Tempe will still offer plenty of entertainment on April 2. Although this free event does not feature beer, it provides a fun opportunity for cycling enthusiasts to come out and show their stuff.
The Festival
Tour de Fat is more than a festival for beer fans and cyclists – it also supports non-profits and advocacy groups dedicated to bicycle culture and sustainable transport by donating a portion of beer sales proceeds directly back into these organizations. This year’s money raised at Tour de Fat will benefit Bike Fort Collins, along with several other local organizations.
Alongside an entertaining bike parade, this annual event provides plenty of food, music, and entertainment. Live bands and circus performers delight the crowds between parade laps while plenty of New Belgium beer awaits your thirsty palate.
Tour de Fat brings thousands of people together for a fun-filled day full of festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement – raising over 6 Million dollars since its inception! Come dressed up as your best cycling alter-ego to take part in all the day’s events and raise money for local bike nonprofits across the nation!
Tour de Fat is dedicated to leaving a minimal environmental imprint, with all stages crafted using recycled materials; performers use biofuel derived from recycled waste oil; all trash is collected into compostable and recyclable bins; water stations will also be provided throughout the festival for visitors’ convenience.
While Tour de Fat has been canceled this year in Tempe, other events across the country remain on schedule. Breweries focusing on events in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Asheville, North Carolina, where Tour de Fat is headquartered, will host events. These annual bike parades/parties with live music/beer festivities to support local bike nonprofits are still happening across the nation.
If you are planning on attending, make sure to visit the event website for more details. Here, you will find everything from schedules and maps to emergency alerts, as well as purchasing tickets online. Make sure to arrive early so as to claim an ideal spot in the parade!
Emergency Updates
After making changes to the Tour de Fat that caused consternation among attendees last year, New Belgium Brewing has announced that the traveling beer, music, and bicycle festival will not return to Denver this year. They cited feedback from community members who were unhappy about charging admission for events held there or with decisions such as moving parade routes away from City Park onto 500 Linden Street or making other alterations.
Even without its usual Denver stop this year, Tour de Fat will still make stops in six cities, including Fort Collins, Asheville, and Tempe. Learn more here about this free festival, which combines beer with cycling and bemusement while raising funds for local non-profits and encouraging people to dress up as their alter egos while riding self-propelled two-wheel transport.
