by Debbi | Sep 16, 2009 | Events
Have you participated in our Tropical Thursday Buzztime trivia contest?
We've been holding this competition on Thursdays from 6-8 pm for several months now, and it's been pretty popular with our customers. We only have 10 Playmakers for people to use, and most Thursdays they are all in play- either by single players or groups.
It took us awhile to figure out how to score this competition. There are six trivia games during our contest, and Buzztime shows everybody's score after each game. But, they don't total scores over those two hours, and if there are ten people playing it's impossible for someone to write down everybody's score each time. We struggled for several weeks and we're grateful to the players who were patient with us while we tried out different scoring methods.
Peach finally came up with a great way for us to pick a winner based on her experience with horse shows of all things. We have a whiteboard at the bar with a chart on it, and after each game the top three players are written on the board.
For each first place finish, the player gets 5 points; 3 points for each second place finish, and 1 point for each third place finish. No points are given for any other place. At 8 pm, when all six games are over, the points are tallied. Whoever has the highest number of points wins the prize for the evening. Currently the prize is a Sandbar t-shirt.
There's another element of competition here, too. Not only are the players competing against each other (and all the people playing Buzztime around the nation), but we have a weekly challenge with the folks at Sandbar Ottawa. Whichever location gets a higher ranking in the network top 20 at any point during the night wins, and the bartender buys all the players a round of Dirty Bananas.
We tried to challenge Heroes Sports Bar in Wichita one week. They showed up regularly in the network top 20, and we connected with them on Twitter to issue a challenge. Apparently we scared their players with our smarts, though, because they left halfway through the game.
If you haven't been by to check out our Buzztime trivia game, come by! It's available to play anytime, or come in on Thursdays at 6 for our (sort of) organized contest! Get there early to get a Playmaker, and you might have to double up on teams so everyone can play.
by Debbi | Aug 31, 2009 | Birthday Party, Events, Ottawa
Last Friday night, our second Sandbar location down the road in Ottawa celebrated it's fifth year of business. Several people at the party commented that it didn't seem like five years had passed already. To me, it seems like it's been open a lot longer.
Five years ago, shortly after it opened, our Ottawa location played host to part of the Sandbar's fifteen year anniversary celebration. We rented a bus, took reservations, and road-tripped to Baldwin City for dinner at The Lodge (another one of Peach and Ted's ventures, or should I say ad-ventures!), and then on to Ottawa so everyone could check out the brand-new Sandbar. That night seems like ages ago.
Friday's party gave us another opportunity to use the fabulous stage that Dave & company built for our downtown Lawrence block party. It was parked out by the sand volleyball courts, and the night was perfect (again!) for an outdoor party. Our friend Frankie Diamond took the stage at 7 pm, followed by the Ottawa band Big Deal at 9 pm. Frankie plays at the Ottawa Sandbar on a regular basis, so make sure to check him out another time if you missed this party. If you're really nice, he might even dedicate a song to you!
There might not have been as big of a crowd for this party as there was in Lawrence, but it was still a lot of fun. Several friends from Lawrence made the trip, and there were lots of Ottawa Sandbar regulars there.
Peach, Coleen, and Dave took advantage of one of the band's breaks to hop up on the ship's back balcony and perform our favorite Sandbar dancing tunes.
I tried a new experiment with this party- my new friend Jenn introduced me to a website called Whrrl, which is basically a site where anyone with an account can create or join "stories." The stories can be updated on-the-go with pictures and notes, and they can also be integrated into Facebook and Twitter.
Check out the Whrrl story from the Sandbar party here.
by Debbi | Aug 25, 2009 | Birthday Party, Events
We had so much fun at our birthday party earlier this month, we’re doing it again!
A fact that got lost in the excitement of The Sandbar turning 20: our second location in Ottawa turns 5 this year! It seems like yesterday we were cleaning and painting the old Taco Tico and turning into a beach-themed oasis south of Lawrence.
We’re getting a second use out of the fantastic pirate ship stage that we used in Lawrence- the kind folks at Zarco66 let us keep the trailer for an extra month and haul it to Ottawa to host a second band.
Join us this Friday, August 28, at The Sandbar in Ottawa to help them celebrate five years in business! The show starts at 7 pm and features the band “Big Deal,” along with a special guest, Frankie Diamond.
If you’re on Facebook, RSVP to the party and share it with your friends.
If you had fun at our block party, you won’t want to miss this. And if you haven’t checked out our Ottawa location yet, this is a perfect opportunity!
For those of you in Lawrence who are interested in car-pooling, meet us at the Lawrence Sandbar by 5:30 p.m. on Friday and follow us down.
Get party updates this week and during the event: if you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow us (@thesandbar) and use the #sbar hashtag so your tweets show up here!
