Poudre RiverFest Returns to Fort Collins

Local nonprofit organizations are partnering to host the annual Poudre RiverFest, a free community festival that celebrates the Poudre River, promotes restoration, and educates people about our river corridor, an important natural resource in our community. The in-person festival will be held on Saturday, August 20 at New Belgium Brewing from noon – 6 pm featuring live music, family-friendly activities, food trucks, and New Belgium beer.

Saturday’s event will feature a variety of entertainment including live music from local bands Sugar Britches, Cactus Cat, The Catcalls, and Pappy LongLegs as well as Poet Laureate Ally Eden. In addition, the festival will be home to the River Fun Zone, presented by the Colorado Foundation of Northern Colorado. The River Fun Zone will include family entertainment such as “Paint the River,” “Build Me a Boat” and “Go Native with Wildflowers,” all designed to educate families on the significance of the Cache la Poudre River through exploratory activities.

In addition to the River Fun Zone, the festival will offer the Poudre River Experience, an immersive tunnel that takes attendees on a journey through each section of our river. Through these features, attendees will have the opportunity to win prizes by collecting stamps for their very own Poudre River Passport. Attendees will also be able to test their luck in the Pet Photo Contest presented by Poudre Pet & Feed Supply.

This year marks the ninth annual Poudre RiverFest. In May of 2014, like-minded nonprofits launched the festival in the wake of the high floodwaters of 2013. More than 20,000 people have attended the festival in person or virtually since its inception. They anticipate this year’s event to continue on the path of connecting the community with an additional 2,000 individuals visiting Saturday’s festivities.

This year’s organizing partners are the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, National Association of Interpretation, Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, City of Fort Collins Utilities and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. The sponsors are Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, Compost Queen, Downtown Development Authority of Fort Collins, New Belgium Brewing and Poudre Pet & Feed Supply. The 2022 Poudre RiverFest media partner is Townsquare Media.

Proceeds from the event will go to support restoration projects along the Cache la Poudre River. Businesses and individuals are encouraged to get involved! To learn how to get your business or organization involved, or to get information about the Poudre RiverFest schedule of events, visit poudreriverfest.org.