Today is a very special day- it's doorboy Ethan's 21st birthday!
Ethan is the little brother of bartender Hayley and the son of Dave's high school basketball coach. He started working at the door a few months ago, and now he can actually have a drink AND learn how to tend bar!
Ethan and Hayley and friends will be celebrating his birthday tonight at the Sandbar, of course.
If you're out and about, stop by and wish him a happy birthday.
This picture was taken a long, long time ago. Isn't it cute?
One of the highlights of last weekend's Shark Fest block party was the giant, 40-foot-long inflatable shark slide.
We first spotted the shark slide last year when McDonald's on 23rd St. rented it for their grand reopening celebration. Not really sure how McDonald's and sharks go together, but the slide was perfect for our party.
The slide went up on Saturday afternoon and the kids swarmed. Their parents couldn't believe the slide was free. We had no intention of charging people to slide, but if we'd charged a buck a ride we could have easily paid for probably the entire party!
Dave and Curtis raced each other down the slide. The rules said only two adults on the slide at a time, but the rules probably didn't expect two giant men to ride at the same time.
Bartender Tegan escorted a baby down the slide. We didn't get a picture of that one.
Our slide supervisor Ken informed us that local downtown legend Dennis even took a ride on the slide. we aren't sure if his baby doll went with him, or if someone held onto it for him. No picture of that one, either.
Overall, the slide seemed to be a big hit with kids, parents and party-goers. Now what can we do next year?
A few of our favorite local Lawrence bloggers partied with us at Shark Fest last weekend and then wrote about it on their blogs.
Check out I Heart Local Music's review of the first two bands, Blue Orleans and The Magentlemen, along with a video clip they shot of The Magentlemen:
Video by I Heart Local Music
The snarky but fun Larryville Chronicles shared their experience at the block party here. Apparently our popular pirates ended up down the street at the Burger Stand once they made their appearance at Shark Fest.
And Peaty Romano shared a bunch of pictures he took at Shark Fest. You can see them in his Facebook album. We're glad he did, because we were so crazy busy at the party that we didn't have time to take pictures.
Well, friends, another Sandbar birthday party has come and gone. The party just gets bigger and better every year!
We're estimating that around 1,400 people went through the beer garden and/or bar areas at some point during the night, and there were lots of other people on the street who didn't enter those areas at all.
The shark slide was clearly a big hit with kids and adults. Here's a picture that Dave's little sister Stephanie took from on top of the slide:
Our staff worked harder than they've probably ever worked at the Sandbar before. Thanks to everyone who tipped them, shared a kind word or thanked them- they deserved it! Many of the staff members worked a solid 8-10 hours that night, on their feet the whole time, and extremely busy for most of it.
The bands were fun and played great music, and great snacks were available on the street. Thanks to Air Summer Snow, Teller's, the lemonade guys and Sandbar Subs for keeping people cool.
We'll have more notes and stories and pictures to share throughout the week. In the meantime, leave your favorite Shark Fest memory in the comments, or shoot us an email at sandbar@thesandbar.com and we'll post it on the blog! We'd love to see your pictures, too.
One week dedicated to sharks isn't enough for us. Shark Fest 2011- our third annual birthday block party that takes place Aug. 13- will feature all kinds of shark-themed fun.
Here's the schedule:
8th St. between Mass St. and New Hampshire St. will close at 1 p.m.
Blue Orleans, the band that opened at last month's Tour of Lawrence block party, will play at 5 p.m.
Magentlemen, a band that includes our next door neighbors at Richard's Music Store, takes the stage at 8 p.m.
Valentine and the Hammerheads, our headlining band the past two years, closes the show starting at 9 p.m.
The lovely and talented Sandbar float dancers will make an appearance between bands and dance to your favorite Sandbar tunes.
Alcohol will be available inside the bar and in the beer garden. There's a $5 cover to enter and you must be 21 or over. The beer garden will feature Land Shark beer and tropical drinks.
This is a family-friendly event. The kids (and adults!) will have fun on the 40-foot-long inflatable shark slide, available from 5-10 p.m.
