If you are reading this and you happen to know my dad, Gerald C. Gay ...
Shhhhh.
Let’s keep this conversation to ourselves.
As far as fathers go, I think I lucked out.
Thanks to his love and support over the years — along with equal amounts of love from my mom — my sister and I have done all right in this world.
So, it’s only natural that I want to give him the best Father’s Day possible, which, in the grand scheme of things, will never be nearly enough.
Every dad is different. Below are the blueprints to what I hope will be a successful Father’s Day weekend with mine, with a mix of ideas that you can use for yours in the process.
Giving my dad plenty of space
Some dads enjoy cars. If that sounds like the patriarch in your family, consider the free fourth annual Father’s Day car show, running from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. this Sunday at Pantano Christian Church, 1755 S. Houghton Road.
My dad is more of a space shuttle type of guy.
Having spent 23 years as an aerospace engineer for Lockheed working on the Hubble Space Telescope, his fascination with the final frontier runs deep.
His YouTube watch history is filled with the SpaceX launch streams and documentaries about the future of interplanetary travel.
A visit to my parents’ house isn’t complete without hearing about the genius of Elon Musk.
Old standby local space adventures, include the Pima Air and Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road, which has an entire building dedicated to aerospace technology, and the recently reopened Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium on the University of Arizona campus, 1601 E. University Blvd., which offers exhibitions and planetarium programs on celestial topics like black holes and the solar system.
Visitors check out helicopters and fighter jets at the Pima Air and Space Museum.
We are going to shoot for the new “Ready to Launch, Arizona’s Place in Space” exhibit, running through Nov. 30 at the Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second St.
Located in one of the museum’s temporary galleries, the exhibit offers objects and information about the role Arizona has played and still plays in space exploration.
Pieces on display include former astronaut and current Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly’s training flight suit, mission notebooks and patches, glass plate reproductions of the first images of Pluto, which was discovered at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff in 1930, and a spacesuit worn by Buzz Aldrin, on loan from Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Aldrin, along with Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong, used the terrain in Northern Arizona as a substitute for the moon’s surface before taking on the real thing in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
“Everyone is familiar with how Texas and Florida played a role in space exploration, but Arizona’s part is not as well known,” said Shannon Fleischman, head curator of all of the Arizona Historical Society’s museums in the state. “Our state has contributed quite a bit. People are excited that Arizona’s space story is being told.”
The museum is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, so plan to take dad the day before Father’s Day. Masks are still required, but walk-ups are welcome and the museum is no longer limiting attendance. Admission is $10 with discounts available. Learn more at facebook.com/arizonahistorymuseum.
When we are done with the museum, I hope to surprise my dad with tickets to this year’s Spacefest, which returns to the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa, July 15 to 18, after taking 2020 off due to the pandemic.
Now in its 11th year, Spacefest is next level space nerdery, a full weekend of discussion panels, a space art show, a marketplace and guests that include authors, former support personnel and the true rock stars of any space convention, the astronauts themselves.
Some of the astronauts slated to attend this year include, Jack Lousma, Charlie Duke, Robert “Hoot” Gibson, Linda Godwin and Steven Hawley (who coincidentally awarded my dad the Silver Snoopy Award, given to NASA employees and contractors for their exemplary work, in 1988).
Apollo 13 lunar module pilot Fred Haise, right, marvels at a 40-inch model of the Saturn V rocket that Brett Anderson of Denver brought to be autographed during Spacefest IX at JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in 2018.
Like any fan convention, there is the initial ticket price, $30 for a Friday or Saturday and $10 for Sunday, and then extra costs for photos with the astronauts, autographs and other activities.
Spacefest organizer Kelsey Poor, whose father, Kim Poor, started Spacefest in 2007, said the event will be smaller this year. Some speakers and panelists have opted not to travel because of lingering COVID concerns and other out-of-country guests can’t make it due to travel restrictions.
But Poor said many of the festival’s diehard regulars were ready for its return.
“The Spacefest fandom is getting antsy,” she said. “And we are gradually losing our Apollo astronaut friends, so time is of the essence.”
Visit spacefest.info for more information.
Pleasing pints
Now that he is in his 70s, my dad has had to give up on a lot of his favorite foods and drinks in the name of good health.
But there will always be room for a pint. He and my mom lived in Munich, Germany, for several years and honed their drinking skills in beer halls during the city’s annual Oktoberfest celebrations.
And while COVID-19 shuttered a handful of Tucson breweries, including Public Brewhouse and Green Feet Brewing, the vast majority survived, and just about all of those that remain have reopened their taprooms.
Hayden Wilson adds a dash of Taijin seasoning to his beer at Copper Mine Brewing in Tucson. The brewery recently celebrated its fourth anniversary.
Many of the breweries can be found in clusters. Button Brew House and Catalina Brewing are within walking distance of each other, on the northwest side. Dragoon Brewing and 1912 Brewing are five minutes apart by car on West Grant Road.
If you are feeling ambitious, and you have an Uber account or a reliable designated driver, take your dad through the downtown corridor, home to a bevy of breweries and tasting rooms, including Pueblo Vida Brewing, Borderlands Brewing, Ten55 Brewing and Tap & Bottle, with other spots like Crooked Tooth Brewing, Voltron Brewing and MotoSonora Brewing close by.
My dad and I will most likely be hitting a couple of his pre-pandemic favorites, Arizona Beer House (facebook.com/azbeerhouse) at 150 S. Kolb Road and Copper Mine Brewing (facebook.com/copperminebrewing) at 3455 S. Palo Verde Road.
Arizona Beer House doesn’t make its own beer, but carries craft brands from all over the world, with more than 800 cans and bottles available and 38 taps serving up a mix of sours, stouts, ales, lagers and IPAs.
You can bring your own snacks, or pick something up from whatever food truck is set up just beyond the Beer House patio. The taproom has upped its food truck game in the last year, booking trucks for both lunch and dinner nearly every day of the week.
On Father’s Day, Malta Joe’s will be up and running by 3 p.m., serving pastizzi, a popular street food in Malta consisting of pastry shells filled with savory ingredients like curry and ricotta cheese.
Copper Mine Brewing in Tucson has 14 beers on tap at any given time.
Now that he is fully vaccinated, dad has been itching to get back to Copper Mine Brewing, which recently celebrated its fourth anniversary and just started canning its three flagship beers, Hibiscus Blonde Ale, Dead Canary double IPA, and Irish Red red ale, last week.
The brewery, which has expanded into the space next door since opening, has plenty of seating and 14 beers on tap at any given time, a mix of regulars and rotating selections.
Co-owner Jeremy Pye, who started Copper Mine Brewing with Jeffrey Kaber, said the pandemic didn’t do as much damage as it could have, thanks to government loans and grants, a dedicated staff and a loyal fanbase.
“We are resilient,” Pye said.
Bring on the meat
When it comes to choosing a good meal, my dad’s tastes tend to lean toward the shared experience: grazing on charcuterie plates together at local haunts and enjoying cookouts in the backyard with friends and family.
Charcuterie to-go is a big thing these days, and something I am strongly considering for this Father’s Day. Tucson businesses with cutesy names such as Cuts and Slabs Charcuterie, Fig + Feta and Board + Brie, have grown in popularity.
Board + Brie (facebook.com/boardbrietucson) even has a Father’s Day-themed charcuterie board dubbed “The Flight Deck” available. It pairs mini-bottles of whiskey and tequila with a selection of meats and cheeses, fruits and nuts for $95.
If your dad would rather get out of the house, as my parents have preferred after a year of lockdown, the Chef’s Board at Cielo’s, at Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way, is a tasty way to drop $20, with a delicious combination of artisanal cheeses, dried fruits, nuts, cured meats, jams, pickled vegetables and crostinis to share.
Sara Castro looks at packaged meats at Forbes Meat Co., which is offering a rib-eye sampler for Father’s Day.
Provided it doesn’t get too hot, which is a distinct possibility, we might find ourselves in the backyard grilling, using meats purchased from local mom-and-pop shops.
As east-side residents, Dickman’s Meat & Deli (facebook.com/dickmansmeat) at 7955 E. Broadway is our go-to destination, not only for standard options like rib-eyes and sausages, but for when we want to get adventurous with our dinner, with more unusual fare like alligator sirloin, frog legs and bison stew meat.
Butcher Mikey Negore trims dry aged beef at Forbes Meat Co. downtown.
Dickman’s, which also has a location on the northwest side of Tucson, 6472 N. Oracle Road, is known for its extensive selection of meats, as well as its unique cuts of beef known as “ugly steaks.” We’ll probably stick to the sirloin, but if dad has a hankering for crawfish tail meat, we know where to get it.
Downtown, Forbes Meat Co. at 220 E. Broadway is offering a rib-eye sampler for Father’s Day, consisting of 4 ounces of Japanese A5 wagyu, an 8-ounce dry-aged Texas wagyu and a 16-ounce local rib-eye for $71, a combination meant to put some thrill on the grill and a smile on dad’s face.
“It’s rib-eye, three ways,” said owner and butcher Ben Forbes. “If I wasn’t a butcher, I’d be very happy with that as a Father’s Day present.”
Find out more at facebook.com/forbesmeatcompany
