Folks turned out by the thousands for the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade in downtown Colorado Springs Tuesday night. More than an hour before the floats were set to begin their march down Tejon Street, families decked out in cowboy hats were already lining the street, picking out prime viewing spots.

The parade kicked off the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, which runs Wednesday through Saturday, and featured horseback riders and marching bands alike. It was an event that brought in viewers from as far as Mississippi.

For many, going to the parade has become a family tradition.

“We come every year. Never miss it,” said Lisa Halcomb, who’s lived in the city for 12 years. She explains that while she loves watching the riders and floats go by, for her the parade is also about supporting the military and firefighters.

Her daughter Genevieve, age 6, had a simpler view of what the parade meant: “Horses!”

Before the floats made their way down the street, children played in the fountain at Acacia Park and ran down the sidewalks with balloons from the Pikes Peak Kiwanis Club.

Jan Carle, a Colorado Springs native, says that she brought her daughter to the parade when she was a child and is happy to bring her grandchildren this year as well.

“It’s just fun — the bands, the colors,” Carle said. “There used to be cute cowboys, and we’d always get to pick our favorite horse.”

When the first riders came by, it was easy to see what kept families coming back.

The excitement was palpable as the first riders passed, and the series of floats that followed featured such things as horse-drawn buggies and dancing gorillas.

“There are always new things for the kids to see,” Michelle Aldea said. She came to the parade almost two and a half hours early with her husband, Anthony, and their four children to get a good spot on the edge of the street.

“It’s fun,” her husband agreed. “I’m from Texas, and it kind of reminds me of being out there.”

This year, however, it was hard to keep the parade separate from the realities of the past few weeks.

When two floats drove by from the Flying W Ranch, destroyed in the Waldo Canyon fire, it was to wild applause and shouted words of support from the crowd from one end of the street to the other. There was a sense of community and solidarity visible in the cheering crowd and the returning waves from the floats.

Even among the unicyclists and clowns thronging the street, those participating in the parade hadn’t forgotten the fire either.

“Thank you firefighters and fire responders,” read the bus bringing up the rear in USAA’s entry in the parade.

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Contact Lauren Fellers: 636-0198.