Boulder, CO Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Chapter 4-12 of the Boulder Revised Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 8751 in 2026, creates a permit specifically for a 'special festival event': an event on public or private property that uses streets, sidewalks, parks, or other city property in a way that departs from normal traffic, pedestrian, or park rules, runs over multiple consecutive days, and is expected to draw more than 15,000 spectators or attendees (Section 4-12-2). Section 4-12-3(a) lets the city manager issue a permit covering the event itself plus a reasonable setup and teardown period, but the combined time can never exceed thirty days.

Applicants may file up to twelve months ahead of the first festival day and must file no later than ninety days before it, submitting a complete list of sponsors and vendors, every address inside the festival boundary, a safety and security plan, a sign plan covering every vendor's and sponsor's signage, and payment of the applicable fee (Section 4-12-3(b)). A 'vendor' under Section 4-12-2 is any person or entity, including owners, agents, or employees, who sells or offers goods, services, or food from a temporary location at the event; vendors and sponsors must separately obtain right-of-way permits, business licenses, and any liquor permits their activity requires (Section 4-12-3(d)).

The city manager will not issue competing special festival event permits during the Sundance Film Festival or the Bolder Boulder Memorial Day race, except for those events themselves (Section 4-12-3(f)), and when two applications conflict for the same dates and location, priority runs first to city-contracted events, then to government-sponsored events, then to an applicant with two or more consecutive years of prior use, and finally to whoever filed first (Section 4-12-3(g)).