A celebration of air travel at a Wyoming airport named with an eye to the future is in the cards this weekend.
Green River’s annual Spaceport Days, staged at the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport, will be held Friday and Saturday and will feature a magic performance, outdoor screening of a “Star Wars” movie and a demonstration of the Aviat “Husky” airplane, made in Afton.
The Intergalactic Spaceport is a public use airstrip about five miles south of Green River that was renamed a spaceport in 1994.
According to published reports, the rural airport was renamed by Green River City Council members to convey “an offer of sanctuary to the possible residents of the planet of Jupiter” threatened at the time by pieces of a comet headed for the planet.
The airport is used by local pilots and pilots of small planes, said Amanda Cavaz, Green River’s communications administrator.
“We have people who come in and land, then they come in to explore,” she said. “We’ve had some people who land there to make sure everything is OK on their aircraft. It’s a great airport for anybody who is coming in to do recreation here in Green River.”
Spaceport Days was organized as a way to celebrate aviation and local aviators, Cavaz said.
“And it’s to invite aviators from our region to come in and see our operation and share a breakfast,” she said.
Activities begin at 7 p.m. Friday with a performance by a magician, followed at 9 p.m. by the showing of a “Star Wars” movie and Star Wars costume contest.
Fire pits can be found throughout the area, allowing attendees to light campfires while watching the movie.
“It’s really a fun, family-friendly type event,” Cavaz said. “People bring trucks and camp chairs and set up their camp chairs and watch a movie outdoors.”
On Saturday, a pancake breakfast will start the day at 8 a.m. The cost is $7 per person, but pilots who fly into the area will eat for free, Cavaz said.
“Most pilots like to fly early in colder air, so they land, taxi off the runway, park the aircraft and have breakfast on us,” she said. “Members of the public then have a chance to come in and look at all the different types of planes.”
In past years, pilots have flown to Green River from areas of Wyoming including Laramie, Afton and Pinedale, she said.
After breakfast, a UH-60 “Blackhawk” helicopter and an “Airmed” rescue helicopter will be on display, while the “Husky” airplane created by Afton’s Aviat will put on an aerobatics demonstration.
For more information on Spaceport Days, visit there website here or go to the Spaceport Days and Fly-In page on Facebook.
