Barranca Mesa Elementary invites Los Alamos to Bobcat Bonanza

Bounce houses, a dunk tank, a cake walk and cotton candy turned Barranca Mesa Elementary School’s Bobcat Bonanza into a neighborhood gathering at 57 Loma Del Escolar Street, where the school opened its biggest fundraiser of the year to the whole Los Alamos community. The event ran Friday, May 15, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and families could buy tickets and food vouchers with cash or credit card at the bonanza.

A $25 wristband gave children full access to the games and bouncy activities, a simple price point that made the evening easy for parents planning around school schedules and family budgets. The carnival-style setup gave Barranca students, siblings, teachers and neighbors the same reason to show up, with activities designed to keep younger children moving and to give families a place to spend a spring evening together on school grounds.

Barranca Mesa Elementary and the Barranca Mesa PTO said proceeds from the event went right back into the school. The PTO also said volunteers were needed for cakes, bounce houses and cotton candy sales, underscoring how much the fundraiser depended on family labor as well as attendance. The school described Bobcat Bonanza as its "biggest fundraiser of the year" and said it "brings together our school and the Los Alamos community."

That community focus was not new. In 2022, the PTO said the entire community was invited back to the bonanza after a four-year break. In 2023, Barranca Mesa Elementary PTO, Los Alamos JJAB and the Los Alamos Public Schools Prevention Program invited families to learn and earn free Bobcat Bonanza tickets through short online family-learning modules, tying the fundraiser to outreach beyond the school parking lot and playground.

In a county of 19,419 people, according to the 2020 census, events like Bobcat Bonanza matter because they turn a public school into shared civic space. For Los Alamos parents, students and neighbors, the appeal was not just the games and food. It was the chance to support Barranca Mesa Elementary, gather with other families and reinforce the school ties that help hold the community together.