dpDad’s Day will be here before you know it. So it’s probably a good idea to make your plans now.
It must be said: Patriarch appreciation is a little trickier than Mother’s Day, since brunch is almost universally appreciated as a great way to celebrate mommy-hood.
This June 21, you need to get more creative. Find fun activities to do together — and if there’s a cocktail or beer opportunity with that … well, then, all the better.
Here’s a little help with some family-friendly, father-fab experiences for what we’re calling “Sire Sunday.” Please keep in mind: Prices may not include gratuities and taxes.
Fun with axes
Chops + Hops Axe Throwing Lodge: 115 NW Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale; 954-247-1687; chopsandhopsfl.com
As the name spells out, you can drink beer (or enjoy craft cocktails) and throw axes. Don’t worry, at this spot inside Sistrunk Marketplace, you’ll get instruction from an “axpert.” There will also be a Father’s Day special bestowing a free Old Fashioned cocktail for Dad if you purchase a 50-minute, axe-throwing session for $25.
For the golf lover
Topgolf: 400 Lucky Lane, Pompano Beach; 754-310-5023; topgolf.com
If your papa likes to putt, then this is the perfect destination. The golf balls here are microchipped, and a video system shows the shot and keeps score. There’s also a restaurant and bar at this three-level venue (make sure you check out the rooftop terrace). Costs range from $20 to $66 per hour for a bay (for up to six people) depending on time/day. Those who make Father’s Day weekend reservations receive one free hour of gameplay to use at a later date. (And if you buy a Callaway golf hat, you get another one for free.)
Silverball Retro Arcade
The Silverball Retro Arcade in downtown Delray Beach will 0ffer a Sunday Fun-Day pricing special on Father’s Day. (Silverball Retro Arcade/Courtesy)
A good gamer time
Silverball Retro Arcade: 19 NE Third Ave., Delray Beach; 561-266-3294; silverballmuseum.com/delray-beach
There’s a good chance that your father — back in the day, mind you — was a good gamer. Where do you think you get it from? But it was a different kind of game … literally. Let him have his day again at this hands-on “museum.” There are more than 150 vintage and modern arcade games, such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Skee-Ball, as well as 87 pinball machines. As if that weren’t enough, Silverball also has three cocktail bars and a boardwalk-inspired eatery. On Father’s Day, get the Sunday Fun-Day special: Four Half-Day play passes for $50 (usually it’s $20 a person). You can also add up to three more guests for $10 each. Other than food and beverages, you only pay for your time there because all games are set to free play, so there are no coins needed.
All-in-one thrill hub
Xtreme Action Park: 5300 Powerline Road, Fort Lauderdale; 954-491-6265; xtremeactionpark.com
Indoor recreation never had it so good — do NOT underestimate the comfort factor of air conditioning in June. You’ve got go-karts, bowling, laser tag, roller skating, trampolines, mini golf, virtual reality and arcade games, climbing ropes, escape rooms and the XD Dark Ride Theater. Speaking of go-karts, there’s a Father’s Day special: You buy one race, you get the second one for free. Pro Racing is $29 per racer, and Super Racing is $30 per racer (the difference is the speed of the karts, as well as age and height requirements). Of course, Xtreme Action Park also has a restaurant, sports bar and speakeasy.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving
iFLY Indoor Skydiving in Davie uses 60-second intervals in a wind tunnel to give you the feeling of skydiving as you float and whip around, just as if you had parachuted out of an airplane. (iFLY Indoor Skydiving/Courtesy)
An air-bound adventure
iFly Indoor Skydiving: 11690 W. State Road 84, Davie; 954-280-4359; iflyworld.com/fort-lauderdale
You get the feeling of skydiving through 60-second intervals in a wind tunnel (four fans, 450 horsepower each) that allows you to float and whip around, replicating the sensation of parachute-jumping out of an airplane in a free fall. Various flight plans are available ranging in cost from $84 to $539. There will also be a sale from June 1 through Father’s Day offering 20% off a 10 Flight Shareable package (for up to five people), which includes free digital photos and videos of your flights.
Field trip with Dad
Cox Science Center & Aquarium: 4801 Dreher Trail N., West Palm Beach; 561-832-1988; coxsciencecenter.org
Sure, there are very cool exhibits such as “Giants of the Ice Age” and “Sean Kenney’s Brick Planet,” but for some, maybe even cooler than that is you and Dad getting to interact with a baby alligator. Oh, and there’s also an observatory, outdoor science trail, splash pad and — as you can well imagine — a 10,000-gallon aquarium. But back to the baby alligator: That’s part of the Animal Ambassador Program, and on Sundays it takes place at 2 p.m. Admission is $26 for adults, $24 for teenagers (ages 13-17) and seniors (age 60-plus), and $22 for children (ages 3-12).
Lucky Lou’s Raw Bar
During a watch party for the FIFA World Cup, Lucky Lou’s Raw Bar in Deerfield Beach will have a Father’s Day BBQ Ribs Special, plus beer bucket specials. (Lucky Lou’s Raw Bar/Courtesy)
Just for kicks
Lucky Lou’s Raw Bar: 123 NE 20th Ave., Deerfield Beach; 954-531-0943; luckylousrawbar.com
Throughout the FIFA World Cup this summer, this eatery will show the soccer pitch battles on 19 big-screen TVs. But on Sunday, June 21, the indoor-outdoor bar/restaurant will meat-the-matches with a Father’s Day BBQ Ribs Special. Enjoy ribs served with housemade potato chips and coleslaw, at $20 for a half-rack and $32 for a full rack. You can also get five-bottle buckets with domestic beer for $25 (Budweiser, Miller Lite) or imported beer for $30 (Corona, Guinness, Heineken, Red Stripe). Lucky Lou’s patio is dog-friendly, so you can also bring four-legged fútbol fans. The match that day pits Uruguay vs. Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Elsewhere, other games include Spain vs. Saudi Arabia and Belgium vs. Iran.
Roll with it
Strike 10 Bowling & Sports Lounge: 449 Plaza Real, Boca Raton (at Mizner Park) and 801 Silks Run, No. 1505, Hallandale Beach (at The Village at Gulfstream Park); strike10bowling.com
It just doesn’t seem right calling this a “bowling alley.” Strike 10 is more like a bowling boulevard, with an expansive bar and food lounge, bowling lanes, mini lanes and billiards (the Hallandale Beach location also has an arcade and a hookah lounge). Even better, on Father’s Day all dads bowl for free.
Florida Panthers
Share in your love of ice skating by spending the day together at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. (Florida Panthers/Courtesy)
It’s hockey time
Baptist Health IcePlex: 800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale; 954-835-7080; ftlwarmemorial.com
Got a hockey-loving dad in your life? Then he just might appreciate being cool by skating at the Florida Panthers’ practice facility, where he can also enjoy both The Federal bar and restaurant as well as Pantherland, the team merchandise store … where cats daddies can buy some cat toys. By the way, there’s also the Florida Panthers IceDen (3299 Sportsplex Drive, Coral Springs; 954-835-8500; panthersiceden.com), where pater skaters get to skate for free “with any additional paid public skating admission” on Father’s Day.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving
iFLY Indoor Skydiving in Davie uses 60-second intervals in a wind tunnel to give you the feeling of skydiving as you float and whip around, just as if you had parachuted out of an airplane. (iFLY Indoor Skydiving/Courtesy)
Xtreme Action Park
There’s a Father’s Day special for go-karts at Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale. (Xtreme Action Park/Courtesy)
