Meet our Valentine’s Day Glass Designer, Alison

by Debbi | Feb 5, 2011 | People, Random Questions, Sandbar Stuff, Valentines Day

Sandbar friend Alison created our fantastic pint glass design for Valentine's Day. We asked her a few questions about her Sandbar experiences through the years. You can find Alison online in a variety of places: at her personal blog, her professional design site and on Twitter.

What's your favorite jukebox song? Everytime I go to Sandbar, my friends always overload the jukebox with Disney and Grease soundtracks. So I'm going to say "You're the One That I Want" has to be a favorite, since it's inevitably played every time I'm there, but there's few things I love more than hearing "Sweet Caroline" or "Friends in Low Places" getting belted out by everyone in the bar.

Tell us about the first time you came to the Sandbar. I'm not sure I actually remember the first time I went to the Sandbar, as it was shortly after my 21st birthday (to be fair, that whole year is pretty blurry). But I do remember one of the first times we ever went we played upstairs in the sand most of the night. The cutouts are so funny, they should start making more apperances downstairs! I also remember scouring the fish tanks and giving names to our favorites, and obviously doing the car wash after dirty banana shots.

Favorite drink? I can usually only do one or two tropical drinks before hitting a sugar high, but I always have to have at least one shark attack every time I go. Also, dirty banana shots are the greatest shots known to man.

What's the longest you've waited in line? The only time I remember having to stand in line for a really long time was the first time I brought my mom and her friend. They had never 'partied' in Lawrence with me before, and I knew they would have a total blast at The Sandbar. We thankfully only had to wait about 30 minutes or so, and it was well worth it.

…which leads to my funniest memory of The Sandbar. I had promised my mother a legendary hurricane, and once again, it did not disappoint. I think the best time I ever had at The Sandbar was doing a hurricane and singing "Car Wash" with my mom standing on the benches, Bahama Mamas in hand. We laughed so hard, she had the best time.

Favorite memories at The Sandbar? My favorite memories of The Sandbar HAVE to be the birthday parties. My friends and I have been for the past two years, and they are legendary! We took about a gazillion pictures in the photobooth, they're still hanging up in all of our apartments. And last year we got a picture with Coach Self! It's also a lot of fun with the live bands and shutting down the whole block, it's like Sandbar just takes over all of downtown for one night a year! 

Favorite drink trinket? I think my favorite drink toys are the Shark Attack sharks, I have more than my fair share of them. I really want to figure out a way to display them properly. Brenna suggested making lights out of them by stringing them on a strand of christmas lights, I think that would be so much fun!

Jukebox song you never want to hear again? Again, with all of the sing-a-long jams my friends pick EVERY TIME we're at the bar, there's more than a handful I'd be fine with never hearing again. Abba's "Dancing Queen" and "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King are definitely at the top of the list. (Editor's note: Aren't those a couple of Brenna's favorites?!)

Where can you be found when you're not at The Sandbar? When I'm not dressing up as a mermaid for the 11th time (seriously, Erin and I have a contest going to see who can be a mermaid more times than the other. Is there a Guiness World's Record entry for that yet?), I am a Graphic Designer for the Lawrence Journal-World. In my free time I enjoy traveling as much as possible, cheering on the Jayhawks to assured victory (while biting my nails and yelling at the TV), and fighting the effects of my late nights at Sandbar with pilates, soccer, dodgeball, and kickball.