It was a golden day for goldens to take to Golden’s streets in the golden foothills of the Front Range.

Thousands of people, many leashed in tow behind their shaggy, yellow-haired and sociable retrievers, flooded the streets in the city’s downtown Saturday for the annual Goldens in Golden celebration.

Organizers expected the attendance of this year’s iteration of the annual event, which started seven years ago with just a handful of people and dogs, to be as many as 15,000 humans, up from 10,000 last year, said Golden’s Communications and Community Engagement Director Meredith Ritchie.

“Over the last few years, between social media and the influencer industry, the love for golden retrievers has been everywhere,” Ritchie said. “The spreading of this event was just a viral sensation. We don’t market this event, we are getting way more people than we ever could’ve imagined to come here. It is such a beloved event by the golden retriever community, and they look forward to it all year round.”

That growth was evident as people made their way, or at least tried to, though the mass of humans and dogs that filled the city’s historic downtown on Saturday. Rays of sun peeking behind scattered clouds occasionally illuminated dust and dog hair kicked up by the furry friends.

Organizers announced that there were attendees from as far away as Alaska and Mexico who had traveled to Golden specifically for the event.

It was the first time attending the event or even stepping foot in Golden for Bryan and Kim Allen, standing next to their leashed retriever, Cooper. They all moved to Parker from Atlanta just seven months ago.

“We heard about it from the internet, dog videos,” said Bryan Allen. “And we said ‘we’ve got to get over here.'” Both agreed that, despite the crowds, the event had been a fun way to explore the town.

This year was the first time in the event’s history that it had sponsors, which allowed organizers to expand its footprint to more blocks and facilities, Ritchie said. The city organized a free, dog-friendly shuttle to try and help combat the traffic woes that had plagued visitors in year’s past.

The additional financial resources also allowed event organizers to more than triple the number of vendors they were able to host, from 17 last year to 57 this year, Ritchie said.

“This event is really about helping the economic vitality of our community during this slow season, during the winter months,” Ritchie said. “This is often the time of year where businesses, specifically in Golden, have the hardest time operating.”