Last week, New Belgium Brewing Co. announced that its Tour de Fat, the traveling tour of philanthropic bicycle advocacy, raised $535,924 for local nonprofits this season, totaling more than $3 million in its 14-year stretch. This year’s total is up almost $40,000 from last year. The event is free, yet all proceeds from beer and merchandise sales and donations from parade participants go to nonprofit organizations focused on making communities a better place to ride a bike.
Tour de Fat celebrates the fun side of bicycle culture, kicking off each festival with a costumed bike parade through city streets. Upon the parade’s completion, thousands of friends rock the park all day with eclectic entertainment, New Belgium beer, bike-themed activities, delicious local food and so much more. The events also encouraged people to think twice about recycling, with an impressive 85 percent of waste diverted from landfills.
Tour de Fat traveled to 12 cities between May and October, attracting a total of 97,500 beer and bike enthusiasts and 57,359 bike parade participants (up 23,100 attendees and 8,096 riders from 2012). New Belgium’s hometown of Fort Collins, Colo., raised the most money ($90,000), and had the most festival-goers and parade riders, both totaling 25,000 people. To see how each city performed, a breakdown is included below. Tour de Fat also hosted the seventh annual car-for-bike swap, where one brave role model in each city stepped on stage to trade in car keys and pledge to live car-free for one year. Each swapper received a $2,250 stipend to buy their own commuter bike in exchange for their car. Vehicles for Charity auctioned the swapped cars, with proceeds benefiting Tour De Fat’s local nonprofit partners. Each of the swappers is encouraged to blog about their adventures as a two-wheeled local rock star. To read their tales from the road, visit the car-for-bike trade blog at www.newbelgium.com/events/tour-de-fat.aspx.
“Each year just gets better as Tour de Fat extends its reach into communities to share bike love in the most colorful way possible,” said Matt Kowal, Tour De Fat Impresario. “It’s where you can find flamboyant costumes and entire families dancing in the park; it’s the look of communities raising money together alongside funky musicians and mind-blowing magicians. We thank everyone who takes the time to make this kind of magic happen. It just feels good!”
To see photos, videos, and other highlights from some of the 2013 tour stops, visit www.facebook.com/TourDeFat. Let’s break down the stats city by city
Grand Totals
Total Funds Raised: $535,925 (not including auctioned car proceeds)
Attendees: 97,500
Parade Attendance: 57,359
Average Waste Diversion Rate: 85 percent
Atlanta — May 11
Total Funds Raised: $15,415 (up $9,185 from 2012)
Attendees: 2,500 (up 1,500 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 300 (up 100 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 85 percent
Washington, D.C. — June 1
Total Funds Raised: $35,583 (up $14,673 from 2012)
Attendees: 4,500 (up 2,000 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 500 (up 187 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 85 percent
Durham, N.C. — June 15
Total Funds Raised: $20,009 (up $3,966 from 2012)
Attendees: 3,000 (up 800 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 1,000 (up 250 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 87 percent
Nashville — June 22
Total Funds Raised: $34,687 (up $16,008 from 2012)
Attendees: 5,000 (up 2,750 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 1,500 (up 750 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 85 percent
Chicago — July 13
Total Funds Raised: $40,476 (up $13,940 from 2012)
Attendees: 8,000 (up 3,500 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 1,100 (up 350 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 84 percent
Minneapolis — July 27
Total Funds Raised: $23,658 (up $3,905 from 2012)
Attendees: 3,000
Parade Attendance: 800
Waste Diversion Rate: 92 percent
Boise, Idaho — Aug. 17
Total Funds Raised: $55,019 (up $5,344 from 2012)
Attendees: 7,500 (up 1,000 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 6,000 (up 1,000 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 75%
Ft. Collins, Colo. — Aug. 31 – Most Money Raised and Largest Attendance
Total Funds Raised: $90,000 (up $10,943 from 2012)
Attendees: 25,000 (up 4,000 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 25,000 (up 4,000 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 80 pcrcent
Denver — Sept. 7
Total Funds Raised: $77,017 (up $5,563 from 2012)
Attendees: 15,000 (up 4,000 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 11,000 (up 1,000 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 86 percent
San Francisco — September 21
Total Funds Raised: $16,574
Attendees: 3,000
Parade Attendance: 159
Waste Diversion Rate: 85 percent
San Diego — Sept. 28
Total Funds Raised: $41,486 (up $11,152 from 2012)
Attendees: 6,000 (up 2,500 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 2,000 (up 900 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 87 percent
Tempe, Ariz. — Oct. 5
Total Funds Raised: $86,000
Attendees: 15,000 (up 5,000 from 2012)
Parade Attendance: 8,000 (up 3,000 from 2012)
Waste Diversion Rate: 87 percent
