Fathers from all over the Central Coast celebrated their big day in a variety of ways Sunday.

For parishioners at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Nipomo, fathers took in the great weather with their families at the church's annual celebration, which featured plenty of barbecue and an opportunity to share fellowship with friends from the community.

“The celebration has been going on for over 40 years,'' said Rollie Cavaletto of Nipomo. “It started some time in the mid-1960s, and paid for the church, the church hall, the rectory and the classrooms. It's now less of a fundraiser and more of a time of community fellowship.”

According to Cavaletto, the Father's Day celebration was once one of the most anticipated events of the year.

“Thirty or 40 years ago this was strictly a farming community,” he said. “Farmers from Arroyo Grande to Santa Maria would spend the entire day here hanging out and socializing.”

Father James Henry has seen the event change to include a diverse section of the community.

“This is the first year that we're offering the Mexican food,” he said. “The change reflects the change in the community. We wanted to include the Latino community. Diversity is a good thing because it enhances our unity.”

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His uncle, Father James Marron, is credited with starting the celebration more than 40 years ago.

The church's barbecues were stoked with red oak early as organizers cooked 1,500 half-chickens for the event. El Pastor tacos, tamales by the dozen and plenty of cold drinks were also part of the celebration. A band entertained the audience, while kids participated in games such as Ping-Pong ball toss and bean bag toss.

For Jaime Maycotte and his family, residents of Santa Maria, spending Father's Day at St. Joseph's is a tradition that has been going on for the last 10 years.

“There's a lot of people here this year,” said Maycotte. “It's always a big turnout.”

Tom Skelton of Arroyo Grande brought his granddaughter Makayla and hoped to meet up with the rest of his family while also visiting with some of his old grammar school friends.

“This has been a big deal for many years now,” he said. “It's always a nice way to spend Father's Day. There's 11 kids in our family and we're here to support my father, Bill.

“For me it's also good to see a lot of the friends I went to school with at St. Patrick's School. Even though this event has grown a lot, it's still about the local community.”

Other dads spent Sunday relaxing in the park with family.

Travis Johnston of Santa Maria had one thing on his mind Sunday.

“I asked him what he wanted to do for Father's Day, and he said he wanted to go fishing,” said Nicole Johnston, Travis' 23-year-old wife.

“I wasn't going out of town to go fishing, so we came over to Waller Park,” the 25-year-old father said. “I'm having a great Dad's Day. My son, Isaiah, caught a fish on his first day fishing. How cool is that?”

Jim Perry of Santa Maria spends nearly every Father's Day in Waller Park with his extended family.

“This is the Perry-Rios family, Father's Day party,” he said. “We've been doing this for many years. It's a great way to spend Father's Day.”

Todd Cralley can be reached at 347-4580 or tcralley@santamariatimes.com.

June 18, 2007