09/10/2026
Los Alamos Airport Proves There’s More To It Than What Meets The Eye
Los Alamos County Airport will host an open house and home-based business expo on Saturday, Sept. 12. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
[email protected]
The Los Alamos County Airport may look like a quiet, sleepy operation but don’t be fooled by appearances. A lot of programs and organizations are tied to it. The upcoming Los Alamos Airport Open House and Home-Based Business Expo will highlight a few of these activities and organizations, proving there is more than meets the eye to the local airport.
The open house and home-based business expo will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 12, at Los Alamos County Airport, 1040 Airport Road.
The event, which is free and open to the public, is presented by the airport in collaboration with the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce. The family-friendly event will bring together aviation, science, emergency services, entrepreneurship, music and interactive activities for community members of all ages.
The airport open house portion will offer visitors an opportunity to experience aviation up close through a flight simulator, aircraft displays, participation from the Civil Air Patrol Squadron and Los Alamos Fire and Rescue, and interactions with local pilots and aircraft owners. The big showstopper will most likely be the skydiving demonstration at 9:30 a.m. The event will also feature paramotors, an experimental trike, laboratory drones, radio-controlled aircraft, static displays of home-built experimental aircraft and participating aviation organizations.
The home-based business expo will introduce Los Alamos residents to local entrepreneurs who contribute products, services, expertise and economic activity to the community, even though they may not operate from traditional storefronts. Additionally, there will be an aircraft-themed craft table as well as a Los Alamos Airport Adventure Passport activity. Passport holders can collect stickers, small giveaways, business cards, coupons and other surprises as they visit aircraft and aviation displays, home-based businesses, sponsors and community-resource tables. The blue passport booklets also serve as a place to tuck away some of the small keepsakes collected along the way and may be taken home as souvenirs of the event. After collecting stickers from at least five participating tables, the first 200 passport holders to visit the Chamber table will receive a good-luck travel turtle keychain, while others will receive a gold star for their passport.
In an email to the Los Alamos Daily Post, Airport Manager Gary Goddard encourages everyone to come and check out the event.
“One reason I would encourage people to attend is that the airport can sometimes look like a quiet or even sleepy place from the road, but it is actually connected to a remarkable range of organizations and activities,” he said. “The open house will bring many of those connections together so the public can meet the people involved and see what happens here.”
For instance, Goddard pointed out the airport has been supporting the response to the Frijoles Fire across the valley.
“Aircraft and crews from around the country are operating from the airport and playing a crucial role in fighting the fire,” Goddard said. “That work demonstrates why having a capable local airport matters—not only for private and recreational flying, but also for emergency response, public safety and service to the wider region.”
Regarding the home-based business expo, Chamber Associate Director Audrey Marroquin wrote in a press release, “Home-based businesses are an important part of the Los Alamos economy, but community members may not always have an opportunity to discover the full range of products, services and professional expertise they provide. By bringing aviation, entrepreneurship and community resources together, this event can help local businesses build meaningful connections while giving families a memorable and engaging way to experience the airport.”
Besides home-based businesses, the expo will include County economic-development organizations, educational institutions, financial institutions, and business-support professionals to participate as community-resource partners. These organizations may provide information about business planning, financing, technical assistance, marketing, professional development, workforce education and other resources that strengthen businesses and contribute to Los Alamos County’s economic resiliency.
A total of 22 businesses and organizations are participating in the expo, Chamber Director Sandy Jones said. Del Norte Credit Union, Sunflower Bank First National 1870, University of New Mexico-Los Alamos and Xfinity are sponsors of the event, along with Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, visit www.losalamoschamber.com or contact [email protected] or [email protected].
