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80 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, AZ 85281

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Event Summary

Come to the biggest cycling benefit event in the Valley! New Belgium’s annual Tour de Fat is back at Tempe Beach Park for 2022, offering a day packed full of FREE festivities celebrating beer, bikes and bemusement. Enjoy bike parades, touring ensembles of comedians, cirque performers, general mayhemists, top-notch live musicians and world-class New Belgium beer.

It’s a celebration of great beer, good people and humankind’s most wonderful invention – the bicycle! So, come celebrate self-propelled, two-wheel travel and dress up as your alter ego while raising money for your hometown cycling community.

Check out the event website for schedule and details.

For more information on events in Tempe, visit our Tempe Events Page .

Event Hours

Start Time: 12:00 pm

End Time: 6:00 pm

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2023 Tempe Tour de Fat – Cancelled

2023 Tour de Fat is cancelled. Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped over the years.

Tempe Bicycle Action Group , The Central Arizona Mountain Bike Patrol , and Bike Saviours Bicycle Collective were the benefiting non-profits groups for the Tour de Fat and they now need your help more than ever. Click on the links above to find out more about each organization and find out how you can help with your time or donations.

Feel free to email [email protected] if you have questions or comments.

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Tempe Tour de Fat to cause transportation adjustments, detours and closures

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• Eastbound Rio Salado Parkway right turns onto southbound Hardy Drive will be restricted.
• Fifth Street turns (left and right) onto Hardy Drive will be restricted.
• University Drive turns (left and right) onto Hardy Drive will be restricted.
• Northbound Hardy Drive will be closed to through traffic at 13th Street, traffic will be to 13th Street.
• Southbound Hardy Drive left turns onto eastbound 13th Street will be restricted.
• Westbound Apache Boulevard traffic will be detoured onto westbound 13th Street.
• Southbound Mill Avenue will be closed between Rio Salado Parkway and 13th Street. All traffic north of Rio Salado Parkway will be detoured onto Rio Salado Parkway.
• Rio Salado Parkway will be closed in both directions between Mill Avenue and Hardy Drive.
• Northbound Ash Avenue will be closed at Third Street.
• 48 Northbound – Regular route to Rio Salado Pkwy / Priest Dr., south on Priest to University Dr., east on University Dr. to Ash Ave., North on Ash Ave. to 5th St., East on 5th St. to resume regular route.
• 48 Southbound – Regular route to 5th St/Ash Ave., south on Ash Ave to University Dr., west on University Dr. to Priest Dr., north on Priest Dr. to Rio Salado Pkwy, west on Rio Salado Pkwy to resume regular route.
• 62 Northbound – Regular route to Hardy Dr/Broadway Rd., east on Broadway Rd. to Mill Ave., north on Mill Ave to 5th St., east on 5th St to resume regular route.
• 62 Southbound – Regular route to Tempe Transportation Center, exit east on 5th St/Veterans Way to University Dr., south on McAllister Ave to Apache Blvd., west on Apache Blvd, to 13th St., west on 13th St. to Mill Ave, south on Mill Ave. to Broadway Rd., west on Broadway to Hardy Dr., south on Hardy to resume regular route.
• 66 Southbound – From Tempe Transportation Center, exit east on 5th St/Veterans Way to University Dr., south on McAllister Ave to Apache Blvd., west on Apache Blvd, to 13th St., west on 13th St. to Mill Ave, south on Mill Ave. to resume regular route.
• Earth West – Regular route to Rio Salado Pkwy./Packard Dr., south on Packard Dr. to 6th St.; west on 6th St. to Veterans Way; west on Veterans Way/5th St. to Tempe Transportation Center.
• Jupiter South – From Tempe Transportation Center, exit east on 5th St/Veterans Way to University Dr., south on McAllister Ave to Apache Blvd., west on Apache Blvd, to College Ave., south on College Ave to resume regular route.
• Mercury East – From Tempe Transportation Center, east on 5th St. to College Ave.; south on College Ave. to University Dr.; east on University Dr. to resume regular route.
• Venus Forward – From Tempe Transportation Center, exit east on 5th St/Veterans Way to University Dr., south on McAllister Ave to Apache Blvd., west on Apache Blvd, to 13th St., west on 13th St. to Mill Ave, south on Mill Ave. to Broadway Rd., west on Broadway to Roosevelt St., resume regular route.
• Venus Back – Regular route to Broadway Rd./Roosevelt St., east on Broadway Rd. to Mill Ave., north on Mill Ave to 10th St., resume regular route.

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Tour de Fat is back in 2022, Fort Collins: Mark your calendar

After two years of COVID-related cancelations, Tour de Fat is giving it another shot in 2022. 

The downtown Fort Collins bike parade is scheduled for Sept. 3, founder New Belgium Brewing Co. told the Coloradoan on Thursday. 

It will be one of three scheduled Tour de Fat bike parades across the nation, with others in Tempe, Arizona, and Asheville, North Carolina, home of New Belgium's second brewery. 

Specific details for Fort Collins' Tour de Fat haven't been released yet. In years past, it has included a bike parade around Fort Collins followed by a festival at New Belgium's Linden Street brewery.

New Belgium's 'spiritual side': After unexpected 30 years, longest-tenured employee retires

New Belgium joins the ranks of festival organizers taking another crack at their events in 2022. Most recently, FoCoMX announced it was scheduled to return to Fort Collins stages April 22-23.

The Fort Collins Peach Festival is also set to return to the Holiday Twin Drive-in on Aug. 27. 

Stay tuned as the Coloradoan continues to report on the fate of Fort Collins festivals. 

FoCoMX 2022: Festival staging a comeback after two years of COVID-related cancellations

Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at [email protected]. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a digital subscription to the Coloradoan today. 

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New Belgium Brewing's Tour de Fat

Categories: Arts & Entertainment • Food & Wine • Kid Friendly • Live Music

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Saturday, Oct 5, 2019    11am-6pm

Tempe Beach Park 80 W Rio Salado Pkwy

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Free Admission

New Belgium’s annual Tour de Fat is back for 2019, offering a day packed full of FREE festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement. Entering its 20th season, the Tour de Fat has raised nearly $6 million dollars for local bike non-profits since it all began. Join us for a three-city tour of bike parades, touring ensembles of comedians, cirque performers, general mayhemists, top-notch live musicians and, of course, world-class New Belgium beer.

It’s a celebration of great beer, good people, and humankind’s most wonderful invention – the bicycle! So, come celebrate self-propelled, two-wheel travel and dress up as your alter ego while raising money for your hometown cycling community — hit the links below to see the Tour de Fat line-up near you.

Get your costume ready. It’s time to shift gears and get weird.

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Bike and beer celebration Tour de Fat returns to Tempe Beach Park

The bike and beer bonanza, Tour de Fat, returns to Tempe for its 17th year.

New Belgium Brewing Company's touring event will take over Tempe Beach Park with a bike parade and festival, and a headlining performance by indie rockers Dr. Dog. This year will feature one major change to the festival: Admission is $10.

"Production has grown, things have grown, and the event keeps getting more and more popular," said Paul Gruber, operations manager for Tour de Fat. "It helps us control what's going on and keep the right number of people in the park. ... We want to maintain a safe environment for everyone."

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$10 festival admission for first time

The Tempe festival typically brings 15,000 to 18,000 people in and out of the park all day. This year, only 10,000 tickets will be sold, and there will be no in and out privileges. The bike parade, which happens before the festival, will still be free and open to anyone. Just arrive early to register.

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Many participants general dress in Halloween costumes or other outrageous outfits, and some even come in on custom pedal-powered vehicles, including double or even triple-decker rides. The bike parade starts at Tempe Beach Park, heads south on Mill Avenue to 10th Street, west to Farmer Avenue down to Howe Street, and then north on Hardy Avenue back to the park.

"We ask for a suggested $5 donation to be in the bike parade, and that money goes back to the local non-profits we work with," Gruber said.

New beers to try

Beer sales also go to the non-profits, which include Tempe Bicycle Action Group, Bike Saviours, Mountain Bike Association of Arizona and Central Arizona Mountain Bike Patrol.

New Belgium will feature a number of beers for sale, including Fat Tire amber ale, Ranger IPA and Sunshine Wheat, all $5 each. Festivalgoers first purchase tokens and then use the tokens to buy beer. Four special releases will be tapped in the Lips of Faith tent, including the 2016 Carnie Blood, and Gruber suggest people get in line at least an hour early. Food will be available for $10-$15.

MORE EVENTS:  Things to do this week  |  Biggest upcoming events  |  More than 100 fall festivals across metro Phoenix  |  Top events for kids this week  |  Latest concert announcements

Swap your car for a bike

Another big part of Tour de Fat is the Car For Bike Trade, a ceremony where someone will give up his or her car for a bike, and use it as their primary form of transportation for one year. The swapper receives $2,250 for a commuter bike, and organizers are still looking for a participant. Last year, Patrick Gilbery was the chosen swapper. The 25-year old Tempe resident is shop manager at Bike Saviours, a co-op that teaches people how to build bikes.

"The decision was partly financial, but mostly philosophical," he said. "I was already driving less and thinking about doing it for a while, and wanted to prove I could go without a car in the Phoenix area. ... It's hard for some people to wrap their heads around not having a car. It's so ingrained in this country, and Phoenix especially."

Gilbery went to Rage Cycles in Scottsdale and picked out a Kona Sutra LTD. His commute to work is only 2 miles, but it's 5 miles to the nearest grocery store. He said the summer heat wasn't a big problem, and actually enjoyed the breeze on his bike rather than getting into a car that was baking in the heat. Gilbery added that Tempe and Phoenix still have a ways to go to become more bike-friendly.

As his one-year anniversary nears, Gilbery said he still plans to go car-free. Gilbery said: "If you're thinking about it, you're ready."

Other entertainment on the main stage includes performances by Esmé Patterson and the Kolars, a game show for a chance to win a New Belgium bike and a fashion showdown. The Le Tigre Tent features yo-yo performances, game shows and a cabaret. The Sputnik Stage, a mobile stage made from airport luggage carts, will feature pop-up performances around the festival.

There's also a number of parties happening before and after Tour de Fat, information is below.

Tour de Fat details:  Saturday, Oct. 1. 10 a.m. bike parade registration, 11 a.m. parade begins. Festival runs noon-5 p.m. Tempe Beach Park, Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway. $10. Children 12 and younger are free. 480-350-4311,  newbelgium.com/events/tour-de-fat/tempe2016 .

Apply to swap your car for a bike:  newbelgium.com/Events/Tour-de-Fat/CarTrader .

TOUR DE FAT PARTIES AND EVENTS

Tuesday, sept. 27.

Backyard Games Bash : Play a variety of games including bags and beer pong, and sip on New Belgium Brewing's Pumpkick, Slow Ride and Citradelic. Get $1 off New Belgium beers. Details: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27. 26 S. The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen, 26 S. Farmer Ave., Tempe. 480-967-0578.

Wednesday, Sept. 28

Tour de Fat Party:  The Chandler beer pub and restaurant will feature an awesome variety of New Belgium brews: Tart Lychee, Le Terroir, Fruit Fly, Pumpkick, Bretta IPA, Rampant, Slow Ride and Citradelic. Details: 5-7 p.m. Hungry Monk, 1760 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. 480-963-8000,  hungrymonkaz.com .

Tour de Fat Special Tapping:  Head here and pick form 25 different New Belgium beers, including special sour tappings. There will also be a cooler giveaway. Details: 7 p.m. Boulders on Broadway,   530 S. Broadway Road, Tempe. 480-921-9431,  bouldersonbroadway.com .

Thursday, Sept. 29

Tour de Fat Bike Giveaway:  Enter for a chance to win a new ride. The popular Tempe bar will be serving Tart Lychee, Le Terroir and Citradelic. 7 p.m. Casey Moore's, 850 S. Ash Ave., Tempe. 480-968-9935,  caseymoores.com .

Friday, Sept. 30

Tour de Fat Warm Up Happy Hour:  Stop by the Tempe bar after work or school and enjoy New Belgium Pumpkick, 1554, Citradelic or Blue Paddle. Details: 5-7 p.m. Devil's Advocate, 955 E. University Drive, Tempe. 480-921-2585,  devilstempe.com .

Official Tour de Fat Bike Decorating Party:  Get your rides ready at this pre-party, featuring supplies to deck out your bikes and 24 New Belgium beers available to choose from. Tour de Fat carnies will be hanging out, and there will be a bike giveaway. Details: 7 p.m. The Handlebar Tempe, 680 S. Mill Ave. 480-474-4888,  handlebaraz.com .

Official Tour de Fat Pre-Party: Stop by the restaurant in The Yard for some New Belgium beers, giveaways and lawn games. Details: 6 p.m. Culinary Dropout, 149 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-240-1601​.

Official Tour de Fat Kick-Off Party:  Don't miss this bash if you're serious about Tour de Fat. Meet the carnies, sip on happy hour priced New Belgium beers and enter to win a bike. Details: 8-10 p.m. Pedal Haus Brewery, 730 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-314-2337,  pedalhausbrewery.com .

Saturday, Oct. 1

Wake and Bike Breakfast: Get geared up for the big day with a big meal. For $10, enjoy all-you-can-eat English breakfast, which also includes a Pedal Haus or New Belgium beer, or a mimosa. There will also be live music. Details: 9-11 a.m. Pedal Haus Brewery, 730 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-314-2337,  pedalhausbrewery.com .

Official After-Party: Head to C.A.S.A. Sunba after the festival for live music and a bike giveaway. Details: 5 p.m. 15 E. Sixth St., Tempe. 480-557-8226,  casatempe.com .

Sunday, Oct. 2nd

Tour de Fat Recovery Party: Still going strong after a week of celebrating? Start your Sunday at Loco Patron and chat with the Tour de Fat carnies, and sip on bottomless mimosas. Details: 11 a.m. 222 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-699-0922,  locopatron.com .

Tour de Fat Extended Recovery Party: The brewery will feature eight to 10 special taps. Details: 1 p.m. Blasted Barley Beer Co., 404 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-967-5887,  blastedbarley.com .

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TOUR DE FAT

Tour de fat – august 26, 2023.

Celebrating 24 years this year, Tour de Fat  is an annual event hosted by Fort Collins-based, New Belgium Brewing Company . Tour de Fat features a day packed full of FREE festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement. Over its 20+ year history, Tour de Fat has raised nearly $6 million dollars for local bike nonprofits nationally and Bike Fort Collins is fortunate and grateful to have been a beneficiary for many of those years.

As always, we need TONS (hundreds!) of volunteers to put on this event, ranging from help with parade support, to beer sales, to information booths, to clean up. Sign-up for a shift below, and “Raise Your Hand” with us too, so we have you on the list for the future. All volunteers get a couple free beers, which are perfect to use following your shift(s) to enjoy the fun and bemusement. There’s also a volunteer appreciation event in the weeks that the event with more free beer and opportunities to win prizes. 

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7 Things We're Looking Forward to at Tour de Fat in Tempe This Weekend

The weather's been unexpectedly pleasant lately, which means your lazy ass has one less excuse for not going outside. Perhaps you might even consider dusting off that bicycle that's been cloistered in the garage since May and going for a ride.

If you require further incentive to mount your neglected steed, how's about some potent brews served up with a chaser of bizarre characters and off-the-wall entertainment? Such a mix will be on tap this weekend when the annual Tour de Fat rolls into Tempe Beach Park.

See also: The People of Tour de Fat 2012 (Slideshow)

Both you and your two-wheeler will be welcomed by thousands of fellow cyclists that attend the afternoon-long festival, which is put on by the hops-heads at New Belgium Brewing and is self-described as a blend of "beer, bikes and bemusement." It's also essentially a celebration of the weird that's invaded by thousands of members of the cult of the bicycle and includes live music, strange sights, scads of amusements, and (of course) tons of brews.

Tempe's been a regular stop on the nationwide Tour de Fat for years, and we've been in attendance at a few of 'em. Here's a list of what we're looking forward to seeing and doing this round.

The Beer: In case you weren't clued in by the fact that New Belgium Brewing puts on Tour de Fat every year (or that it's named after the company's signature ale), beer is definitely a big part. Vendors are set up around Tempe Beach Park pouring a wealth of different New Belgium hops and barley creations, ranging from such signatures as Fat Tire (natch) and the cycling-themed Shift lager to seasonal selections like Pumpkick ale. Serious beer snobs can check out the "Lips of Faith Tent" with its specially curated New Belgium selections.

The Contraptions: Pedal-powered machines are in abundance at Tour de Fat and not just the sea of bicycles found around the park. New Belgium also brings out a variety of peculiar-looking devices for people to ride in the "Bike Pit" that harnesses various cycling components. During the past few years, for instance, we've seen contraptions that use rings of tennis shoes as wheels or human-powered cycling fans. And depending on how much you've had to drink, they can often be a little difficult to operate. There are also games and other amusing distractions about, such as tightrope walking and the Port-a-oke (read: karaoke in unused porta potty).

The Costumes: Freaky and unique ensembles are not only welcomed at Tour de Fat, but are downright encouraged by its organizers. So much so that costumed patrons frequently outnumber the non-costumed at Tempe Beach Park during the festival. Some spend weeks planning what they're going to wear, while others simply throw on whatever is in the closet. It creates a weird and wild cavalcade of outfits and costume mashups throughout the day that includes plenty of urban Vikings, post-modern cowboys, cardboard knights, and other colorful ragamuffins.

The Bike Parade: The bikes that people ride out to Tempe Beach Park can sometimes be just as lively (if not moreso), including many two-wheelers of the mutant, modified, and decorated variety. Many can be seen during the annual Bike Parade that kicks off Tour de Fat and commences at 10 a.m., two hours before the event's official start at noon.

It's a social ride that begins at the park and has cyclists of all ages following a circular route through the Tempe streets and nearby neighborhoods before heading back to the festival. (Participants are requested to make a $5 donation, which goes to Valley bike-friendly non-profits like the Tempe Bicycle Action Group and Bike Saviours.) It's also a sight to behold as this teeming, roaming mass of cyclists cruises along and -- quite fittingly -- shut down traffic along Mill Avenue and elsewhere.

The Performers: Tour de Fat has always had sort of a traveling circus vibe, probably because of the sort of sideshow-style performers and acts that are involved every year. Wander around Tempe Beach Park and you might encounter such unusual characters as Bronan the Barbarian and North America's only strongwoman Mama Lou. Or head to either the side stage located within a red tent or the main stage itself and witness the antics of the husband and wife duo performing as the Yo-Yo People or the thrilling and humorous vaudeville entertainment of the Handsome Little Devils and their "Squirm Burpee Circus."

The Music: And the lineup of musicians that are featured on the main stage during each tour -- which usually are of the indie, fringe, or folk vein -- tend to be a bit funky and unusual themselves, or at least a little bit curious. This year's headliners, for instance, both offer a blend together a number of diverse genres into their musical palettes, like the pastiche of acid jazz, disco, funk, and Latin that's dished out by Venezuela's Los Amigos Invisibles. They'll be preceded by Pitchfork favorites He's My Brother She's My Sister and their genre-straddling and hyphenate-heavy mix of glam folk, cirque rock, cabaret blues, and garage country.

The Car-For-Bike Trade: Tour de Fat's organizers also have an offer that one green-friendly Valley resident might be interested in partaking in. In each of dozen cities that are visited, one local is afforded the chance to give up their gas-powered vehicle for an entire year. In exchange for handing over their car, which is auctioned off for cash that's donated to the aforementioned Metro Phoenix biking organizations, they receive $2,250 to be used to purchase a custom-built dream bike.

The swap is made during a big spectacle of a ceremony on the main stage that involves the participant being carried to the stage in a car-shaped chariot of sorts before riding off through a cheering crowd on a cycle. Just ask local musician Eric Palmer of Tempe band Future Loves Past, who participated in the ceremony and was toasted by the crowd. If you're interested in getting similarly lauded for ditching your gas-guzzler for 12 straight months, organizers are still looking for someone to make the trade at this weekend's event. More info on how to sign up can be found on the Tour de Fat website .

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Event , description.

New Belgium Brewing’s annual Tour de Fat is a celebration of craft beer, bike culture and music, combining live entertainment with a vibrant festival atmosphere. New Belgium hosts the Tour de Fat to raise funds for local non-profit organizations. The brand has raised more than $5 million for cycling non-profits since the Tour de Fat’s inception in 2000.

Saturday, October 6th, 2018

Mill Avenue, Tempe, Ariz. (bike parade and Ciclovia/Street Fair event)

Tempe Beach Park, Tempe, Ariz.

Bike parade:

11:00 a.m. – Bike Parade Launch from Mill Ave.

12:00-3:00 p.m. – Ciclovia/Street Fair on Mill Ave.

Festival Schedule:

3:00 p.m. – Doors open at Tempe Beach Park

3:30 p.m. – Fire Leopard

4:05 p.m. – Sputnik

4:15 p.m. – Slow Ride

4:35 p.m. – Talent Show

5:25 p.m. – Kolars

6:05 p.m. – Dance Contest

7:00 p.m. – Trampled by Turtles

8:15 p.m. –Thanks for Coming, get home safe!

Performers and Acts:

This year combines many favorite past ensemble acts like Sputnik, Slow Ride and KOLARS, along with new and emerging musical talent from around the country.

Headline Act:

With their album, Palomino, hitting the Top 10 on bluegrass charts for 52 weeks straight, Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass and folk-rock band that got their start in Duluth, Minn. Find out more at http://www.trampledbyturtles.com/

Admission - $15 (children 12 & under are free)

All ages welcome, alcohol served to 21+ only

Tickets available here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tour-de-fat-2018-tempe-tickets-45525812932?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete

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