by Debbi | Jan 4, 2013 | Halloween
(This post was originally written after Halloween, and somehow it never got published. And since I got busy preparing for birthdays and holidays and my real job and life in general, I didn't notice. But it's too good to not share, so here it is, better late than never.)
Have you ever seen a zombie clown?
We have. It's scary.
Sandbar friend Michelle put together quite the ensemble to celebrate Halloween early last weekend. It was part Rainbow Bright, part creepy-eyed, bloody zombie.
Of course, there's a funny story. Apparently, a lot of people are scared of clowns. And when those clowns are combined with zombies, something people are also afraid of, it's even worse.
There was a poor young lady at the bar who was so freaked out by Michelle's costume that her friends asked Michelle to please stay away from her. If you've ever been in the Sandbar, you know this is pretty much impossible, because there's not a lot of room.
Michelle complied, most of the night. By the end of the night, though, she couldn't help herself. She walked up to the poor young lady and scared the crap out of her, sending the girl running into the corner of the back room.
And she wouldn't come out.
It was closing time, so Michelle did what any good zombie-clown would do: she went to the back room and scared the girl back out of the bar.
So, to the poor young lady, we hope you recovered from the fright. Please come back someday.
by Debbi | Sep 30, 2012 | Events, Halloween
It's that time of the year again- time for our annual Rocky Horror Picture Show party bus extravaganza!
This year's event will be held on Friday, Oct. 26. That's the weekend before Hallowee, and it's also Homecoming weekend at KU, so plan accordingly.
Here's all the details:
The bus leaves the Sandbar in Lawrence at 7:30 p.m. sharp. Since it's Final Fridays and Homecoming, downtown will be full, so be sure to leave enough time to find a parking place. And carpool if possible!
The bus travels to Baldwin City where we'll pick up people at the Lodge. We'll then continue on to Dunn's Landing for a chili feed and Halloween party. Then, we'll board the bus again and head to Ottawa's Plaza Grill and Cinema.
There's a bar and menu available at the Plaza Grill. After the movie, the bus will travel the same route back, arriving in Lawrence around midnight. It's Homecoming weekend, so the Sandbar will be extremely busy, so keep in mind that traveling on the party bus doesn't guarantee you'll be able to get in the bar when we get back.
Costumes are highly encouraged!
The cost for the party is $25 per person, which includes the bus trip, chili feed and the movie, and this must be paid at the time you sign up. A sign-up sheet is available at the Sandbar. Don't wait too long, this trip sells out every year!
by Debbi | Nov 5, 2011 | Door Diaries, Halloween
Oh, the things we hear in line. I always say I'm going to go hang out in line at the bar sometime just so I can get more funny stories for this blog. Dave's little sister (yes, she waits in line) heard some good ones the Saturday before Halloween.
Apparently some young ladies were disgruntled by the fact they were stuck in line. One of them was overheard saying "These boobs are too good to wait in line. I'm too hot to wait in line." And supposedly she was planning to show the doorguy her chest, since of course that would convince him to let her in the bar instead of making her wait. I don't think she actually followed through, not that it would have mattered.
Entitled ladies (and gentlemen) of the world, please understand that you're not waiting in line because we like having a mob of people harass the doorguy about why they can't come in. This isn't a club in L.A. where the common folk are kept behind the velvet rope and the "hot" girls are allowed to waltz right in the door.
There are things called fire codes and building capacities, and a little thing like a thousand-dollar fine encourages us to obey those rules. You're in line because we have a legal number of people that we're allowed to have in the bar at one time.
Trust me, we'd love to let you all in the bar at once so you can spend your money.
In the meantime, please keep providing the other people in line with some laughs while you loudly scheme about how you're going to bribe the doorguy. Inevitably those stories find their way back to us.
by Debbi | Nov 1, 2011 | Halloween
Another Halloween has come and gone! Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, because we love to dress up in costumes.
Friday night was our annual Rocky Horror Picture Show party bus extravaganza, and there were plenty of costumes that night. Saturday night was the big Halloween party, even though the actual holiday was still two days away. We saw lots of great costumes again on Saturday!
Dave takes his costumes very seriously and loves to come up with new and creative ideas. He's definitely not one to buy a pre-packaged costume off the shelf- he'd rather put his own costume together with finds from places like the Antique Mall, Fun & Games and the costume closet in his basement. (Yes, there is a costume closet in his basement.)
This year, he was Scot Pollard, former KU and NBA basketball player. He grew out his facial hair, attached
a ponytail and painted his fingernails black. The only flaw in his costume was the number on his jersey, but otherwise he made a pretty good Pollard. And that's the real Scot in the photo above with Dave- another awesome costume.
Bartender Blair also decided to dress up as a real person- Friday bartender Phil. He might look like Santa on a tropical vacation, or even White Owl, but he's supposed to be Phil, albeit more of a hippy Phil than real Phil. Blair opted not to trim the wig and beard.
Some of the other costumes we saw on Saturday: bartender Heather as Elvira (and doorguy Nathan is such a youngster he didn't even know who Elvira was); Pocahontas; Mario & Luigi; various superheroes; Ace Ventura; a mermaid; and a cupcake.
Monday night rolled around and gave us a third night of Halloween costumes, and it was a busy night. Thanks to everyone who still felt like partying after a busy holiday weekend!
by Debbi | Oct 29, 2011 | Events, Halloween, Ottawa
On Friday night the Sandbar hosted our third annual Rocky Horror Picture Show party bus extravaganza. We filled a school bus with fun people from the Sandbar, picked up more fun party people in Baldwin and headed for Ottawa.
Our first stop after we picked up a few people at the Lodge in Baldwin City was Dunn's Landing, a working farm outside of Baldwin. Our friends Robin and Kirsten decorated their barn with festive Halloween decor and treated all of us to chili. When everyone was finished eating, we loaded back up on the bus and traveled to Ottawa for the main event.
The party crew outside the barn at Dunn's Landing
The Crystal Plaza Theater in Ottawa has undergone a makeover. Owners Peach, Ted, Teddy and Amelia have added a kitchen and grill, and the lobby area features a small dining area along with a counter and bar stools in the concession area. There's a full menu of appetizers, sandwiches and burgers; and we were particularly amused with the "Happy Endings" section of the menu. It features desserts, silly.
We watched Rocky Horror in the smaller theater, where some of the theater seating was removed to make way for several tables and chairs so patrons can enjoy food while watching the movie.
If you've never been to RHPS, you need to go. It's not the movie itself that is so much fun, but the entire event, especially with the Sandbar crew. And particularly Movie Dave and Scotty Mac, who thoroughly entertained the crowd with their dialogue.
The party crew in the lobby of the Ottawa Crystal Plaza movie theater
After the movie, we loaded back up on the bus and headed home. Many thanks to our awesome bus driver, Jimmy Lee Rose. Anyone who can put up with our group is a rock star! We'll be sure to request him as our driver next time we rent a bus.
by Debbi | Oct 20, 2011 | Guest Blogs, Halloween, Sandbar Stuff
Our second Halloween 2011 pint glass was designed by Chelsea, a KU student.
Here's her design:
Here are some fun facts about Chelsea:
Favorite Sandbar drink. Shark Attack, for sure. Delicious and the shark toy gets me in touch with my inner child.
Favorite Sandbar memory. This is hard to narrow down. Probably the pub crawl I went on this past spring where I alternated between dancing my heart out, eating popcorn and drinking shark attacks.
Funniest moment at Sandbar. Any time fake mustaches are involved because people do some weird stuff under the disguise of fake facial hair.
How long have you waited in line. It's never been a long time but probably 15 minutes when the Lawrence Bar Band was playing.
Favorite jukebox song. I can't narrow this down. Every song that comes on makes me sing or dance. Or both.
Thanks for the great design and for being a good customer, Chelsea!
