No bikes, beer and costumes for us this summer — at least not at Tour de Fat 2021. While the annual Fort Collins parade and brewery party was set to return on Saturday, August 28 after a virtual event in 2020, New Belgium Brewing has cancelled the event. 

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New Belgium's Public Relations Manager Megan Olson said in an email that on Tuesday, August 10, the brewery made the difficult decision to cancel Tour de Fat, due to the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

'At New Belgium Brewing, we pride ourselves on being a force for good,' Shaun Belongie, VP of Marketing at New Belgium Brewing, said in the cancellation announcement. 'Because the CDC has listed Larimer County as a county with high transmission, we need to prioritize the health of our community despite our disappointment in not being able to host what has become a staple on the Fort Collins calendar.'

You can see the CDC's updated COVID-19 Integrated County View map here. Unfortunately, right now, Larimer County is considered high risk, according to health department data. While a little over 57 percent of the population is vaccinated, 93 percent of ICU beds in Larimer County are in use.

Though Tour de Fat has been scrapped for August 28, New Belgium said that its tasting room will be open for normal business hours, and you can follow New Belgium's social accounts for opportunities to support the nonprofit organizations that benefit from the event.

Last week, Bohemian Light Music Festival, which was scheduled for Saturday, August 14, also announced its cancellation, citing the spread of COVID-19 Delta variant for the reason as well.

Tour de Fat 2019

 

The NoCo Virus Tracker articles are made possible by our partners, the Keep NoCo Open campaign that reminds citizens to wear a mask, wash your hands, physically distance and support local as Northern Colorado recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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