Fall has finally arrived in Fort Collins. Saturday, Oct. 7, marked the ninth annual Tour de Corgi in Civic Center Park and Old Town. Tour de Corgi was a great opportunity for Northern Colorado residents to get out and enjoy the weather before the snow begins to fall.

For those who are unfamiliar with Tour de Corgi, it is a parade of corgis dressed up in costumes with their owners. For a $5 registration fee, participants are invited to dress up with their pups and enjoy corgi-centered festivities.

While the main activity of Tour de Corgi is a parade through Old Town, the event also hosted a costume competition, booths to learn about the corgi breed and merchandise vendors to show off corgi pride.

“The motivation is just to have fun and raise money for dog charities,” said Tracy Stewart, the founder of Tour de Corgi.

More information on the parade’s history can be found on the Tour de Corgi website. The main inspiration for this beloved event came after Stewart saw other towns host corgi events. From there, Tour de Corgi took inspiration from New Belgium’s Tour de Fat for the name of the event.

The primary beneficiaries include 4 Paws Pet Pantry, Colorado Corgis and Friends rescue, Wyoming Dachshund and Corgi Rescue and Bandit’s K9Care. These organizations aim to rescue dogs and help feed puppy families and assist with medical bills.

Stewart said this event is primarily for corgis and corgi sister breeds; it’s not anything against other breeds, but the corgi parade would not be a corgi parade if other dogs were allowed. Making the event exclusive to corgis is what makes it so fun and unique.

This event offers people a sense of community and attracts a far-and-wide crowd. Laramie resident and first-time Tour de Corgi attendee Kolby Fenster said he’s been meaning to come down for a year or two now. He finally made it down this year with his pup Fletcher, who is half corgi and half mini Australian shepherd.

“I think it brings a lot of people,” Fenster said. “I’m from Laramie, Wyoming, and I don’t come up to Fort Collins a whole lot, but this brought us up here, and we hang out and buy lunch, so I think it gets a lot of people. And then I think it’s just a good social event too. Everybody loves cute dogs and getting to see them and pet them and interact with them. I think it’s just a good morale booster and just a fun fall event.”

Fenster touched on what many felt at the Tour de Corgi: It’s a day to have fun, talk to other corgi lovers and see a bunch of cute puppies dressed up. Some of the most popular costumes included hot dogs, Ghostbusters, cowboys on saddles, Pokemon and a variety of superheroes.

Tour de Corgi hosted a friendly event with all the ingredients to create a memorable time for participants. Between the cute corgis, delicious snacks, quirky corgi vendors and the lovely sensation of Old Town Fort Collins, Tour de Corgi is the epitome of a good time for dog lovers.