by Debbi | Jun 13, 2011 | Events, Social Media, Web/Tech
Today, a slight deviation from the normal posts about stupid things people do in the bar, downtown events and other random stories that may or may not directly relate to the Sandbar.
The nice people at Philsquare, a local web development company, asked me to help teach a class about social media. It's a basic class, geared to small businesses and organizations here in Lawrence who want to learn more about how social media can benefit them.
Social media is not a magic solution, and it takes work. But I absolutely believe that it can do good things for a business. I'm excited to share some of the things I've learned while building up the Sandbar's presence in various online networks, like Twitter, Facebook and this blog. And trust me, I've learned a lot!
I'm teaching the class with Bailey DeReus, communications director for Philsquare and avid social media user. Here's the class description:
Interested in learning to use various social media platforms? Do you want to understand why using Twitter and Facebook can be successful to engaging customers and increasing business? In this workshop you will learn what services and work for your business and the strategy to making them successful. We will also discuss how businesses using social media locally have an impact on local consumers.
We'd love to see you there! It's only $25 for two hours of information, with plenty of time for questions.
The class is on Wednesday, June 22, at 7 p.m. It will be held in the computer lab at Van Go. If you're interested, please go here to register online.
If you know of a business or organization who might be interested, please pass this on!
by Debbi | Jun 12, 2011 | Birthday Party, Events, Stories
The Sandbar was full of parrotheads last night!
Kansas City-area Jimmy Buffett fans and members of the Parrothead Club converged on the Sandbar for their monthly "phlocking." They were decked out in vintage Buffett concert shirts, crazy hats, beads and all sorts of other attire that you don't normally see outside of a Buffett concert tailgate.
Tropical drinks were flowing and Jimmy Buffett tunes were constant. Two of the club members even got to be honorary mermaids during an early hurricane.
The parrotheads weren't the only ones in the bar, though. Early in the evening, a group celebrating a birthday showed up in bright neon outfits. It looked like an '80s theme party of some sort. A couple of the girls were even wearing neon tutus. They danced around the bar for awhile and did a 7-person shotski, and then moved on to the next place.
It was a fun night at the Sandbar, especially if you like Jimmy Buffett tunes!
by Debbi | Jun 8, 2011 | Around the World, Events
Our good friends Tony and Pam moved away from Lawrence last year, and we were thrilled to get an email from them recently.
They went to the New Orleans Jazz Fest with their friends Scott and Valarie, where our idol Jimmy Buffett was the headliner, and according to Tony, the group "proudly sported their Sandbar official club members uniform!"
Here's a couple other pictures Tony sent us:
Thanks, guys, we miss you in Lawrence!
by Debbi | May 31, 2011 | Downtown, Events, Pub Crawl
It's time for the Lawrence Young Professional Network's annual Putt Putt Pub Crawl!
This event has been going on in downtown Lawrence for many years now, and the Sandbar has been a participant nearly every year. (Read about last year's event here.)
What is it?
A tour of downtown Lawrence bars, where each bar has created their own putt putt hole. The participants socialize, drink and attempt to sink the ball in the hole at each bar.
When is it?
This Friday, June 3, starting at 6 p.m.
What bars will we go to?
According to the LYPN Facebook page, there are four bars participating: Fatso's, the Eldridge, Quinton's and the Sandbar. They haven't announced the starting point or the route yet, but more details will come soon.
The event is free! And there are prizes! You know the Sandbar crew loves costumes, so we're especially excited that there are prizes for best dressed male and female golfers. There's also free pizza at the last stop, donated by Papa John's.
Don't be scared by the words "young" and "professional." This is a great way to socialize and meet other Lawrence people. Focus on N for network if it makes you feel better!
Be sure to sign up here if you want to participate. We hope you do, we're looking forward to a fun night!
by Debbi | May 26, 2011 | Events, Graduation, Off the Wall
Last Sunday, doorboy/bartender Andrew graduated from college.
Some of us have known him since he was knee-high and mopping the bar's floors. He pretty much grew up at the bar, and he started working the door the minute he turned 18. It's hard to believe he's 21(almost 22!) and a college graduate.
Thanks to my photo organizational skills and his own Illustrator skills, Dave was able to put together a creative, thoughtful and often funny collage of our favorite pictures of Andrew through the years. I wish I had a better picture of the banner to share, but this is it:
The big picture in the middle? That's always been our favorite. On the night of Andrew's senior prom, Dave enlarged that one and hung it in the upstairs office at the bar, knowing Andrew and his friends would be stopping by to drop stuff off.
There's several pictures from our Orange Bowl trip in 2008, the one where Dave and I were "chaperones" for Andrew and his buddy Matt. There's float pictures, from the one of Andrew dressed as a sheik and riding a camel, to the Love Boat float where his fourteen-year-old mouth was full of braces, to this year's float where he wore a gorilla costume in sweltering heat.
Pictures with his mom and dad, and pictures with his girlfriend. The banner is a great representation of photos of Andrew's life.
We hung the banner at the bar on Sunday after graduation, for Andrew's first party. Later that night, another party took place at his parents' house with a band, food and family, and the banner hung on the house.
Congratulations, Andrew. Our little boy is all grown up!
by Debbi | May 15, 2011 | Around the World, Cool Stuff, Events
Last month, the Chicago Chapter of the KU Alumni Association put together a fun event for local Jayhawks: their own version of Amazing Race, through the streets of Chicago.
We were pleasantly surprised to see traces of Lawrence in the pictures of the event, especially this team of four young ladies:
Nice shirts, girls! Way to represent what we're assuming are some of your favorite bars in Lawrence.
