The honorifics that come to dads each June go back to 1910, when the daughter of a Civil War veteran wanted to formally recognize his childrearing efforts when he was widowed. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson permanently affixed it on the national calendar for the third Sunday in June, and since then, the greeting card and after-shave industries haven't looked back.
If you're in "The Pursuit" of something different to please your patriarch, laud your lord or celebrate your sire this weekend, we've got five suggestions that encompass the entire weekend:
The March Out event at Valley Forge National Historical Park on June 15 includes a three-quarter mile walk, in the footsteps of the departing Continental Army, from Artillery Park to Varnum's Picnic Area. Interpretive history, re-enactors in period dress and musket fire are part of the program, which runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If nothing else, Dad can learn that Patriots aren't just a football team.
Friday and Saturday, June 14-15, the Ambler Arts & Music Festival takes over Butler Avenue. The nonstop music covers multiple styles from R&B, courtesy of The Trammps, to classic rock and roll covers from the BKWG Band. Best of all, this one won't break the kids' piggybanks: The outdoor performances are free.
Texas blues rocker and three-time Grammy Award winning artist Delbert McClinton is at the Keswick Theater
June 15. He's best known for his #4 hit on the country charts, "Tell Me
About It," a duet with the legendary Tanya Tucker. For CW fans, a set
of tickets is definitely better than yet another pair of fuzzy slippers.
Dad may go on and on about his "hand to mouth" upbringing (and walking to school barefoot in the snow), but a true hand-to-mouth experience is available at the Elmwood Park Zoo's Beast of a Feast gala event, June 15. The Zoo's two new giraffes, Jukuu and Dhoruba, have settled into their summer residence and are available for hand feeding. Let Dad go wild!
After his breakfast in bed, Dad may want to spend some time in bedlam, courtesy of The Three Stooges. The Stoogeum
has scheduled special hours for June 15. Stick around long enough in
the 85-seat theater and he might catch "Sock-a-Bye-Baby" from 1942. The
boys "adopt" a baby that has been left on their doorstep, and his care -
particularly diaper changing - doesn't exactly show them as contenders
for Father of the Year.
Whether your father is more Mike Brady than Cliff Huxtable or more Homer Simpson than Phil Dunphy, there is plenty to do and see in Montgomery County to make Father's Day 2013 one of his most memorable.
