Combine members from Blue Man Group, clowns, street performers and cabaret dancers and you have the ultimate show-within-a-show at this year’s Tour de Fat.
Tour de Fat is an annual free event sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company that includes a costumed bike parade, local food and music and — this year — welcomes original and eccentric entertainment in the form of a vaudeville circus act.
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“The ensemble is a collaboration of some of the most talented, original, amazing and hilarious performers out there working today,” said Michael Rahhal, a current member of Blue Man Group who will be performing at his first Tour de Fat.
“We have a really cool collection of influences that come together to make our different styles resonate with each other to create something original,” he said.
The ensemble will be performing in the Le Tigre tent, a 52-seat venue that combines the feats of an outdoor show and the theatricality of an indoor performance, according to Matt Kowal, the Creative Director for Tour de Fat and host at the Le Tigre tent.
Music performances from Slow Ride, Ian Cooke, Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will be throughout the day on both main stage and side stages.
“We encourage people to wear costumes and let their alter ego come play for the day,” Kowal said.
Rahhal went to the Tour in San Diego last year as an observer and participant in the bike parade.
“It’s not just beer and bands and bikes,” he said. “It’s part of what I see as the human drive to be a part of something bigger and I think Tour de Fat does that in a wonderful way.”
The money raised from this event is used for bike advocacy and education, according to Bryan Simpson, a spokesperson for New Belgium and CSU alum.
“The message is pro bike and the potential to have a more bike friendly life,” he said.
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Last year, Tour de Fat raised $70,000 for non-profit bike organizations like the Overland Mountain Bike Patrol, Bike Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, according to Simpson.
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