Los Alamos Winter Rock Festival Feb. 26 Fundraiser to Support Youth Hockey

The Los Alamos Hockey Association (LAHA) will stage the Los Alamos Winter Rock Festival Feb. 26, 2026 at Duane Smith Auditorium, offering music, a vendor fair and fundraising for youth hockey. The event is billed as a community-driven effort to support LAHA and promote local musicians during the winter months.

Event listings show doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and bands will start at 6:30 p.m. The festival will take place at Duane Smith Auditorium, Los Alamos High School, 1300 Diamond Dr. Organizers plan a vendor fair with games and activities beginning at 5:00 p.m., providing earlier family-friendly programming ahead of the concert. Tickets are available through the HoldMyTicket platform; listings describe the event as all ages and confirm the door time, but do not list ticket prices.

LAHA’s event post, authored by Paul Peterson on the organization’s site, framed the evening as a fundraiser: “The Los Alamos Winter Rock Festival will be fundraising for LAHA with live bands! February 26th at the Duane Smith Auditorium, Los Alamos High School. Doors open at 6; bands start at 6:30PM. Get your tickets now!!” A social media promotion for the festival names at least one performer, the local band Baggage. Local reporting notes the show will feature three bands made up of local talent and that organizers intend to “only promote local musicians and bands while supporting multiple local charities and organizations.”

Organizers are tying the festival to broader community programming. Los Alamos Reporter described the concert as “the first of an annual event that hopes to be a winter answer to the Friday night summer concert series,” and stated that “all proceeds from this show will support the youth hockey association which is the second largest hockey program in the state with 200 players.” Those claims place the fundraiser in the context of LAHA’s role in local youth sports and civic life, where volunteer-run programs and event revenue are major drivers of youth opportunities outside school budgets.

For residents, the festival is both cultural programming and a governance question about how community athletics are funded. The stated pledge that proceeds will support youth hockey raises routine transparency considerations: how funds will be allocated among programming, equipment and scholarships; whether proceeds will cover operational costs or one-time needs; and how LAHA’s fundraising strategy complements municipal recreation budgets and school facility use. The planned vendor fair and partner charities also create opportunities for small businesses and nonprofit groups to engage with residents.

Some logistical details remain unlisted in public postings: ticket prices, the full lineup beyond Baggage, vendor participation specifics and whether the auditorium’s seating capacity will constrain attendance. Organizers have advertised a promotional banner to appear Feb. 16 on the Diamond Drive overpass by Los Alamos High School.

The festival offers a chance for residents to support local youth sports and local music while testing LAHA’s stewardship of community fundraising. Expect additional details on ticketing and performer lineup in the coming weeks as organizers finalize logistics and vendors.