Father’s Day, the tradition of honoring dads, has its roots in Washington.
A Spokane woman, Sonora Smart Dodd, is believed to have created the day dedicated to fathers after hearing about Mother’s Day during a church sermon.
Dodd persuaded the local YMCA to mark the paternal celebratio
n on her father’s birthday, a Sunday in early June.
A hundred years later, the tradition continues. While cologne, aftershave and hardware supplies used to be the favored choices, gifts today should match dads today.
Our gift list tries to include the whole family, and be fun and spontaneous with presents that fuel the local economy.
Take in a game
Treat Dad and the whole family to a sports outing.
A trip to Everett’s Memorial Stadium is easy and tickets for an Aquasox game are affordable: Advance tickets start at $7 and peak at $16. The price is $1 extra at the gate. Save the buck and buy your seats at tinyurl.com/arxkp2.
If you want to swing for the big leagues, spring for Mariners seats at Safeco Field. Tickets start about $20 for a bleachers seat and go up to about $70 for box seats. The club levels are even pricier. Buy tickets at www.seattle.mariners.mlb.com.
Make the soccer dad in your life happy with seats to an FC Sounders game at Qwest Field. Single game seats run from $28 to $98 at www.soundersfc.com. The hot ticket this summer will be an exhibition game when legendary British soccer team Manchester United stops in Seattle on July 20.
Illuminate him
Show Dad that he really does light up your life with the Snow Peak Hozuki candle lantern. This camper’s dream is lightweight and bright whether powered by batteries or fueled by a USB cord.
Designed to hang inside a tent (no scary flames to worry about), the lantern flips over to sit on a picnic table for late-night dining or as a backup for backyard barbecues.
It’s rugged and easy to stow. The Hozuki looks cool, too: Set the lantern to the candle setting and it flickers like the real thing. Available at REI.com or www.snowpeak.com ($89.95).
Celebrate the carnivore
Speaking of barbecues, skip the new grill and instead get Dad something to sink his teeth into: local, grass-fed beef.
There are lots of places to find local heifers. Ribeye steaks are an especially nice choice for the grill.
Try Silvana Meats in Silvana or Double DD Meats in Mountlake Terrace. There’s also Skagit River Ranch near Sedro-Woolley, open only from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. Or select meats from Double R Ranch at Haggen Food and Pharmacy or Top Food and Drug.
But do allow Dad to man the Weber, though, because we know fathers like to rule the grill.
Books for Dad
We couldn’t decide on just one book to recommend, so here are a few that we think will delight Dad, all published locally by Mountaineers Books.
Local writer John Colver chronicles a 12-week athletic training program that will whip any lazy guy into shape without the cost of a gym membership.
The book is “Fit by Nature: The AdventX Twelve-Week Outdoor Fitness Program” ($24.95). The program gets people outside, and uses no weights or gym equipment to help people achieve high levels of athletic ability.
Once Dad is in shape, he might like “Freedom of the Hills Deck” ($6.95), a set of 52 cards based on the classic Mountaineers book on climbing. Each card has tips and techniques.
For less active fathers, “Northwest Trees” ($21.95) is a beautiful and comprehensive guide to native species such as firs, aspens and alders.
The book was written by Stephen Arno and Ramona Hammerly.
All these books are available at Amazon.com or ask for them at your favorite bookstore.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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