This Saturday, the annual Tour de Fat bike parade was held in downtown Fort Collins. Tour de Fat is a unique and exciting tradition for many residents and families in Northern Colorado, and this year brought together hundreds of enthusiastic participants for the parade and entertainment hosted by New Belgium Brewing Company.

Some bikers made floats or other modifications on their bikes. This year’s floats included a giant can of Fat Tire beer, a pirate ship backed by an armada of scurvy-ridden bikers, a “Reelect Pedro” wagon and a dragon that blew smoke out of its nose.

For many, Tour de Fat has become an annual tradition. The Silva family said they have been to Tour de Fat “too many times to count.”

Nate Silva said even though they’ve only been riding in the parade for three years, they’ve been watching and attending the parade for 10-15 years.

“We look forward to it every year,” Lisa Silva said.

In all their times coming to the parade, the Silvas have dressed up as everything from cheerleaders to piñatas, and this year, they were all decked out in neon ’80s garb. They said that for the parade, they usually change it up, and that doesn’t just apply to costumes — last year, they rode a four-person bike.

This spirit of whimsy is welcomed at Tour de Fat, as Matt Caraballo and the Mosley siblings — Mason, Connor and Maggie — can attest. Caraballo and the Mosleys chose to wear yellow body paint and dress up as minions from the movie series “Despicable Me” simply because they thought it would be fun to wear full-body paint.

Between Caraballo and the Mosleys, there were some annual Tour de Fat attendees and some first-timers. However, Mason Mosley said that when it comes to the community, the tour “reflects well with the biking culture and wanting to have fun and be open and friendly to everyone.”

Not only is Tour de Fat a way to participate in the community, it is also a way to engage with new and local businesses. Among the businesses participating in Tour de Fat this year were Momos, Gator Tails Cajun + Creole Food Truck and Pure Green juice bar.

Pure Green opened its doors to Fort Collins June 1 this year. Because they opened so recently, owners Leigh Hall and Bill Loegering experienced Tour de Fat for the first time this year.

Looking for exposure, Hall and Loegering were more than ready to showcase their healthy juice options and hand out samples to parade attendees.

Loegering called Tour de Fat “a legendary and stalwart part of Fort Collins culture since New Belgium started it 25 years ago.”

New Belgium will be donating all of its proceeds from beer sales at Tour de Fat. The recipients of these proceeds will be the Send Town Bike Club, Overland Mountain Bike Association and the Fort Collins Bike Co-op.

Reach Leah Stephenson at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.