The 83^rd Pikes Peak or Bust Parade is back on as scheduled.

The annual summer event that celebrates the region’s Western heritage will entertain in downtown Colorado Springs after all on July 11, with 50 parade entrants currently — on par with its typical 50 to 60 entrants — and between 120 and 140 horses, organizer John O’Donnell said on Monday.

The parade was nearly canceled this year because of a fundraising deficit of just over $30,000; its estimated cost, and that of other similar events, is at least $50,000, O’Donnell said.

Though the parade includes a “modest” participation fee, most of its funding comes from sponsorships and donations, which pay for police and emergency services, barricades, insurance, waste removal and the city’s parking enterprise (covering lost revenues and operating costs for taking public parking spots out of service during the parade).

“We rely heavily on the goodwill and the good nature of local small businesses for the most part,” O’Donnell told The Gazette.

Organizers announced the parade’s cancellation in a now-deleted social media post on Friday afternoon, but the Colorado Springs City Council said in a Monday morning news release that the event will run next month as planned.

The support of UCHealth as title sponsor and key contributions from American Medical Response and Bank of Colorado filled the monetary gap, the release said.

Some City Council members and other city leadership worked quickly on Saturday to help identify additional funding after hearing the parade was in jeopardy.

“I thought, ‘That’s silly. There’s something we can do.’ We cannot cancel one of the most important parades in our community. It’s a celebration of our Western heritage, it kind of defines that spirit in the Pikes Peak region and kicks off our annual rodeo,” Council President Lynette Crow-Iverson said.

The nonprofit Pikes Peak or Bust Foundation, which produces the annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, and the rodeo itself, also support and donate to military veterans, highlighting the region’s strong military ties. Nearly 100,000 veterans call Colorado Springs home, Mayor Yemi Mobolade estimated in November.

“Here we have five military installations in our region and (service members) are the ones putting their lives on the line. Their families have extra stressors, so the community really needed to come together and support these two fundamental pieces,” Crow-Iverson said.

In the release, she thanked UCHealth, AMR and Bank of Colorado for helping preserve the parade and demonstrating a commitment to civic partnership.

More people have reached out to her and asked what they can do to support the event.

“We see that it’s not just one thing or another. The (Colorado Springs) Western Street Breakfast, the (Pikes Peak or Bust) parade and rodeo, it all works together. … Everybody wants to help and that just shows our community pride, shows what we’re all about,” Crow-Iverson said.

The Western Street Breakfast, a longtime city tradition that kicks off the local rodeo season, was held on Wednesday. Following the parade on July 11, the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo runs July 14-18 at the Norris Penrose Event Center.

O’Donnell — who for more than 40 years has built or managed several community events in Colorado Springs, including the Colorado Springs St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival of Lights, among others — attributes the lack of funding for the rodeo parade this year to “primarily economic” reasons.

It’s reflective of a struggling economy, he said, a time when governments, businesses and residents alike are tightening their purse strings.

“I believe that medium-sized to small business(es) who have been the backbone of this (event) are pulling in their horns this year. We didn’t raise enough,” O’Donnell said of initial fundraising efforts.

The event has been canceled a handful of times in the past, O’Donnell said, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and World War II, as well as for inclement weather.

Other community parades and events have found themselves in jeopardy in recent years as well.

In October 2024, the annual Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade was canceled due to both a lack of funding and participants. But O’Donnell’s nonprofit, Colorado International Events, took over the celebration that year and now runs the annual “In Their Honor Veterans Day Parade.”

In May, it seemed the annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races in neighboring Manitou Springs could face cancellation this year. The 30-year-old October tradition draws thousands of people to the mountain city with a population of fewer than 5,000.

Last month, some Manitou city council members suggested pausing the 2026 event due to concerns about its growing size and law enforcement’s ability to provide adequate security. At a work session on June 9, the Manitou Springs City Council supported Police Chief Bill Otto’s request for an additional 15 police officers to staff this year’s event, for a total of 25.

The annual rodeo parade in Colorado Springs “strikes at the core identity of the Pikes Peak region,” said Kyle Park, chief executive officer of the Pikes Peak or Bust Foundation.

“There’s a generation of families who participate in these events … and continue to volunteer and donate their time because they believe in the values and heritage of the Pikes Peak region,” he added. “It’s great we can continue putting on these events to support the community, to honor the traditions and histories of our past and preserve them for future generations.”

Find more information about the Pikes Peak or Bust Parade and a schedule of events online at pikespeakorbustparade.com.

For more information, a schedule and to purchase tickets for Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo events, visit pikespeakorbust.org.