by Debbi | Aug 21, 2010 | Birthday Party, Social Media
Before our block party last weekend, we said there would be prizes. You could win a prize by tweeting about the party, or by uploading a party picture or video online and sharing it with us. It's taken us a little longer than we thought to recover from the party and wrap things up, but we finally have some winners!
Not very many people shared pictures or videos, but the ones we got were great and we appreciate every single one of them. Here's a couple of our favorites:
- Alison tweeted a picture of her and some friends with a certain famous basketball coach who made an appearance at the party. You can see the picture here.
- Rachel tweeted a short video she took of the Sandbar dancers. Watch it here. On that note, we can't believe no one else shot video. It's so easy now!
- Raymond uploaded this cool "Hipstamatic" photo to our Facebook page.
And of course we picked a couple of random tweets about the party. How did we do this? We saved an RSS feed of all the tweets with the hashtag #sb21. Then we counted them up and used random.org's random number generator. And presto, we had a couple winners.
Congrats to the five winners! You win your choice of a Sandbar t-shirt or a six-pack of pint glasses. We'll be in touch to let you know how to claim your prize.
Thanks to everyone who tweeted, posted, took pictures, shot video, and generally just had a good time at our party. We'll be back next year!
by Debbi | Aug 17, 2010 | Birthday Party
All of the staff is accounted for, and we think everyone has finally recovered from Saturday's big bash. We had so much fun at our 21st birthday party, thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!
The blistering sun and heat had us worried for awhile on Saturday. Last year, we barely had the beer garden fenced off before it was full of people; this year, the garden was three times bigger and we were standing around waiting for the crowd to arrive. As soon as the sun hid behind a wall of clouds, a swarm of people showed up.
The music started around 5:30 with Magentlemen and Stomper, two bands made up of our neighbors from next door at Richard's Music Company. We especially loved the lead singer dressed as a cruise director- even more so when he made a reference to the "cougars."
Peach's niece Katlyn Conroy followed them and wowed the crowd with her voice. We mostly remember her from our Love Shack float back in 2003- she was on the float with us that year at a very young age.
The Sandbar float dancers performed the two most popular Sandbar dancing songs- Car Wash and the Sandbar Song- after Peach welcomed everybody to the party. A young lady was overheard earlier asking Peach how she could get to be a Sandbar dancer. Peach told her she had to be a regular at the bar and dance and work on the float; Bridget chimed in with the most important criteria- must use power tools.
Mark Valentine and the Number Ones closed out the night with several hours of everyone's favorite cover tunes. It was a busy night in the beer garden and inside the bar.
Big thanks to our friend Jeff who took pictures at the event for us. Here's a few of our favorites.
Some of our friends came dressed as pirates. Except for Bill, who likes to dress up as Elvis no matter what the party is. Dave even got to take time out during the night to have some fun instead of working all night.
A big thank you to our friend Larry, from Standard Beverage, who served as an unofficial emcee between sets and entertained the crowd with silly jokes, trivia questions and lots of promotional giveaways.
Everyone's favorite party guests Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa made an appearance again this year. All the kids (and the ladies) wanted their pictures taken with the pirates.
After the Sandbar dances, Peach called doorboy/bartender Andrew and Dave's little sister Stephanie to the stage- they both celebrate their 21st birthday this year, too. Coleen made shark attack themed cupcakes and they each blew out candles while the entire block sang happy birthday to them.
More stories & pictures to follow. And we'll have some random winners from submitted pictures and tweets to announce soon.
by Debbi | Aug 15, 2010 | Birthday Party, Hurricane
Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our 21st birthday last night! We had a blast and hope you did too. We'll have pictures, video and stories to share for a long time to come, so check back for updates.
We're also looking for guest bloggers, so if you went to the party and have a funny story or want to share your experience with us, let us know. Send us an email at sandbar@thesandbar.com.
Now, for an update on the hurricane video contest! At this moment, there are 408 votes. That is amazing! Kim is still in the lead with "Don't pick up guys during a hurricane" and 48% of the votes. Justin is on her heels with "Don't ride a scooter during a hurricane" and 40% of the votes.
Go here to vote.
Remember, you can still vote through Monday around noon. The poll is restricted to one vote per IP address. The winner gets free sandwiches for a year from Sandbar Sub Shop and their video will be included in the 2010 hurricane video. We still might choose other clips for the hurricane video, but the winner is guaranteed a spot.
Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell strangers! This is truly a crowd-sourced decision and we value your input.
by Debbi | Aug 14, 2010 | Birthday Party, Social Media
Today’s the big day!
We hope you’re planning to join us today for our 21st birthday block party. Even if you can’t make it, you can still see what people are saying about the party on Twitter- in real time- by checking out the TweetGrid below.
by Debbi | Aug 13, 2010 | Birthday Party, Guest Blogs
One of our loyal Twitter followers, Katie, asked last week if she could make us a shot book for our 21st birthday.
For those of you who are older (like some of us) and don't work in a bar where you regularly see shot books, it's basically a book of 21 shots. According to Urban Dictionary, the book can include details like who bought it, where and when. And of course, the girls often decorate their pages with stickers and doodles to make them cute.
We asked Katie to make a list of 21 fun shots in honor of our 21st birthday.
As Dave said, "The Sandbar doesn't want to puke all over everybody. The Sandbar drinks responsibly." We never encourage people to drink 21 shots or drinks; in fact, we actively discourage this behavior. But if you're looking for some new shots to try, here's a great list. Thanks Katie!
by Debbi | Aug 13, 2010 | Birthday Party
Excited for the block party tomorrow? We are! Here's a list of random party tips for you.
1. Bring cash. The beer garden is cash only and we're not running tabs out there. You can run tabs or use credit cards inside, but it'll be harder to get a drink inside.
2. There will be food. Sandbar Subs will have sandwiches and BBQ brisket for sale. Other downtown businesses might have stuff available too.
3. Dress comfortably. You'll be standing, walking or dancing all night. Don't wear heels, your feet will hate you. And it might be hot.
4. Drink specials. $4 cans of Bud, Bud Light, Corona and Red Stripe.
5. Tropical Drinks. This year we'll have Bahama Mamas and Shark Attacks in the beer garden for $5 (same price inside). They'll be in a special hibiscus print plastic cup that you get to keep, along with beads. Those are your toys, we aren't doing any other toys (including sharks) to keep things moving. We'll squirt the shark blood.
6. Recycling. We'll have a couple of bins outside for cans only. Please don't put trash in them. And please put your cans in the right bin. We're not sorting through trash but we'd like to donate as many cans as possible.
7. Music. Three bands, music starts shortly after 5. The Sandbar's dancers will perform at 8.
8. Cover Charge. It's $5 to get into the beer garden and you must be 21. You'll get a wristband that allows you to come & go without paying another cover charge.
9. Pictures. We love pictures! And video! Shoot your own and send it to us. Here's a list of what you can do, and you might even win a prize. Special thanks to Jeff, who has agreed to be our Sandbar photographer.
10. Family-friendly. Even though we're a bar, this is a family-friendly event. And it's free, unless you want to go in the beer garden. So bring your kids and grandparents and come out for some family fun.
11. Support our neighbors. We have the best neighbors in downtown Lawrence. Every single one of them is supportive of this event, so please show them some love. Support them like you support us. And if you can't get to our bar fast enough, head over to one of our neighbors to enjoy food or drink.
I think those are the high points. Check back later today for our 21st birthday shot book, courtesy of Katie. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!
