PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – To make sure fathers have a relaxing Sunday, the Panama City Quality of Life decided to take care of them on Saturday.
The event called for a fun-filled day of fishing and dolphin watching.
At the St. Andrews marina, crowds of fathers with their families all had fishing poles in hand.
The Panama City Quality of Life made sure all dads were looked after for their special day.
Saturday was the third annual Father’s Day fishing event at the marina.
“We chose the day before, so we still free up Father’s Day for people. Some people like to go to church. Some people like to do early dinners, or they like to take trips. So, we don’t want to hog their Father’s Day, but we want to let them know that we appreciate them. So, we want to offer a day that they can enjoy Father’s Day fishing,” Panama City Recreation Program Coordinator Tatyana Bell said.
Many dads jumped at the opportunity.
There were multiple food trucks, raffles for free fishing rods, and free bait which many people made sure to take advantage of.
“Spending time with the wife and the kids. That’s what it’s all about,” attendee Myron Vann said.
“Enjoying a little fishing with the boys and my daughter and my wife and just catching some sun. It’s very relaxing and enjoyable. I mean, it’s a great time, and I’m glad that the city puts something on like this. It’s good to get out with the whole family,” attendee Tom Mosley said.
Nearly 200 people showed up and the fish were biting.
We caught a baby red snapper and a puffer fish and some kind of fish that look like a rock,” attendee Kimya Johnson said.
Besides the all-day fishing, the main hit among the crowd was the free dolphin tours.
“So the people are growing, the dolphin tours are growing. So, the community is growing it, which we love,” Bell said.
There were three dolphin tours available on a first come first serve basis.
The 72 people first admitted into the event were able to watch the loveable porpoises in action.
“We live in the area. We’ve been here almost two years now, and we wanted to do some more nature-based activities and dolphins are my favorite animals,” attendee Anisha Weimer said.
“We love the free cruise. It was awesome. We got to see all the sites with the dolphins and came back and got to hang out with them on the pier side,” attendee Chad Kaplowitz said.
“I mean, just man, out in the water is like, whatever was on your mind is gone when you are out there. It’s like you just watch in amazement,” Charlie and Kimya Johnson said.
The Johnsons said they enjoyed the free tour so much that they are planning on coming back on Sunday just to experience it again.
In the end officials, just wanted to show dads a little bit of love for Father’s Day.
“Mothers always get the love for Mother’s Day, we don’t like to leave out the fathers, so we let them know that they’re important, too. No matter what’s going on, if you’re raised by your father, you are raised by two parents or just by your mothers. Fathers are important. And we just want to highlight that,” Bell said.
Panama City Recreation program coordinator, Tatyana Bell, said she couldn’t have done this event without support from the city and is looking forward to hosting it again next year.
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