Sawyer International Airport invites public to open house

For those seeking fun this weekend who don’t want to make the commute to the U.P. State Fair, Sawyer International Airport has you covered.

The Discover Sawyer Family Fun Day is an open house designed to give the public a look at the airport from inside the fence. Events include a pancake breakfast put on by the Marquette Breakfast Rotary, a car show, and a chance to bike or run on the runway.

“That is the chance for the general public to literally get out on the entire runway of Sawyer International Airport,” airport manager Duane DuRay said. “It’s 12,366 feet of pavement; it’s not every day that you can get out on our runway via foot traffic or pedal bike and do the whole thing.”

A single lap around the runway amounts to an 8K run, walk or bike, but participants don’t have to go the whole distance if they choose not to. DuRay said a major motivator in hosting the open house is to raise public awareness.

DuRay said, “An airport is deemed at an arm’s distance once the fence goes up, and we want to let the public know that this is their local airport, and their chance to come out and see what’s behind the fence, and feel like this is their airport.”

Discover Sawyer Day begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow with the runway bike and run. It’s free to attend, but some events like the bike and run cost a certain fee.

More information can be found at sawyerairport.com.