This year marks Fort Collins' ninth year of Open Streets! This year's details:

• Where: Shields St. from Mountain Ave. to Lake St.
• When: Sunday, September 15, 2024
• Time: 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Cost: FREE music, FREE activities! Purchase meals or snacks from food and dessert trucks all along the route.
• What: Live music, interactive arts and culture activities, Wellness Space hourly workouts, activities hosted by local organizations and businesses, food and dessert trucks.

If you've never been to Open Streets, here's a video of what to expect:

Use this map to see all the happenings at Open Streets 2024: Local businesses and their activities, food truck locations, music, wellness activities, and more!

Explore the map

You're invited to be a part of the Parade of Wheels! Join others for a ride, run or walk through the Open Streets route. Here's the schedule:

At Shields and Elizabeth:

• 9:45 a.m. - Runners and walkers (meet in front of the Showmobile stage for the event opening, which will be immediately followed by the group run/walk)

At Shields and Lake:

• 11 a.m. - Unicycles
• 12 p.m.- Wheelchairs
• 1 p.m. - Skateboards
• 2 p.m. - Spin scooters

At Shields and Elizabeth:

• 10 a.m. - The Catcalls
• 11 a.m. - Foco Flava
• 12 p.m. - Wes Kirkpatrick
• 1 p.m.- Carlos Barata Music
• 2 p.m. - Tonguebyte

At Shields and Pitkin:

• 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Greyrock Jazz Band

Sponsored in part by: Bohemian Foundation

Wellness activities at Shields and Laurel:

• 10 a.m. - Run with Fort Collins Running Club
• 11 a.m. - HIIT with Niki Veldman
• 12 p.m. - Om Ananda Yoga with Chantel Akers
• 1 p.m. - Board30 Bands Class with Theresa Rudel
• 2 p.m. - Hip Hop Dance with Foco Flava

Sponsored in part by: Poudre Pet and Feed

Chat with a Council Member at Shields and Mountain:

• 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. - District 6/Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis
• 11 a.m. -1 p.m.​ - District 5/Kelly Ohlson
• 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. - District 4/Melanie Potyondy
• 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. - District 3/Tricia Canonico

Additional activities along the route: Bike Maintenance with Trek, music petting zoo with School of Rock, Planting with Gardens on Spring Creek, interactive booth simulating life experiences living with disabilities by Awesome in Action, helmet decorating with Bike Fort Collins, skating footwork with FoCo Roller Derby, Bubbles, free myofascial work and Kinesiology Taping with Adapt Sports Therapy, Chalk the Block, doggie ice cream with Poudre Pet and Feed and more!

At Shields and Pitkin:

Transformer Cabinet Mural Project with artist Terry McNerney. He will be painting a transformer cabinet mural at Pitkin entitled "Colorado Fishin". This project is made possible by Art in Public Places.

If you live along the Open Streets route, here's what to know:

• Residents should park in driveways or on side streets to keep the event route clear for participants. 
• Emergency service will be allowed. 
• Police will be on-site for the duration of the event.
• Recommended detour routes will be in place.
• You'll receive information on these recommended detours in the mail before the event. Generally, you're advised to enter and exit the event route from the side street closest to your residence. 

2024 Detour Routes

If you work or own a business along an Open Streets route, here's what to know:

• We'll work closely with you to provide the best possible access for staff and customers, especially if your business entrance is located on the event route. 
• In some cases, we will establish and sign detour routes for your customers to safely access your establishment. In limited cases, we will allow volunteers to escort your customers directly to your business. 
• Get involved! We invite you to get creative and join the Open Streets fun. We offer discounted rates for businesses located directly on the event route if you're interested in hosting a tent and free activity like other event vendors. 
  • We also encourage you to provide event discounts and promotions to encourage foot traffic during the event. 
• We'll avoid staging Activity Hubs in front of your business.

At Open Streets, participants can expect 1-2 miles of car-free, family-friendly streets. Participants are encouraged to Ride the Route and explore all along. Open Streets routes are generally considered walkable and bikeable, and include attractive neighborhood elements such as parks and other key destinations like churches, schools, and commercial centers.  

Open Streets events aim to show participants that travelling by bike, foot, scooter, and other active, car-free transportation modes can be comfortable, easy, and a healthy alternative to driving. Activities from local businesses are located throughout the event route to encourage movement along the entire route.  Participants can find activities which include live music, local food trucks, health- and wellness-inspired activities, and participant-made art! The possibilities are endless at Open Streets. 

Goals of Open Streets:

• Highlight walkable and bikeable routes by creating temporary, car-free streets for the community to walk, roll, and bike along. 
• Encourage future active transportation among participants along Open Streets routes after the event concludes. 
• Feature local businesses and organizations that support active transportation, health, wellness, and community well-being. Create opportunities to connect participants with these organizations. 
• Foster social capital by connecting neighbors with one another during the event and beyond.

Open Streets initiatives have gained popularity across North America over the past decade. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made public engagement a challenge, many communities have adapted their Open Streets initiatives to serve as places for people to recreate safely while decreasing traffic and increasing opportunities for physical distancing. 

Exercise and social connection remain important activities during these challenging times. Exercise and social connections can increase one's physical and mental health and in turn work to help improve the community's health and resiliency. 

Learn more about our Open Streets plans below on this page, and learn more about national Open Streets initiatives by clicking the button below.

National Open Streets initiative