Last weekend the Sandbar crew staffed the bar at yet another Hearts of Gold Ball, the biennial black-tie event created in 1999 that benefits the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association. Peach sits on the board of the organization and we're proud to help give back to the community.
This year's theme was "Home is Where the Heart is" and all funds raised will help update the second floor medical unit, one of the last wings in the hospital to be updated.
The event was in the gymnasium at Corpus Christi Catholic Church- something that we at the Sandbar thought was funny, since bartender Ken is the physical education teacher and gym guru at the school. We joked about how he was sure to notice any marks left on the floor by all the high heels at the ball.
Hayley, Coleen and Ethan all tended the bar, along with Hayley's friend Ally. It was quite a different atmosphere from the Sandbar- no Sandbar T-shirts here! They all looked very professional in black and white.
According to 6 News Lawrence, the ball raised $350,000. There were live and silent auctions with all kinds of cool stuff to buy, and another way for people to donate if they didn't want to buy something- they could "raise the paddle." Basically this meant they could raise their bid card and give a certain amount of money. Apparently, people do that!
We had a great time sharing a table with the folks from Zarco 66. Can't wait for the next one!
Last Wednesday featured another successful Kansas Relays shot put event in downtown Lawrence!
An estimated 3,500 people flooded the streets to see world-class shot putters compete. The bar itself was rather empty during the competition. The weather was beautiful and we had a bar set up outside, so there wasn't much reason for people to be inside. A small group gathered upstairs in our beach to watch out the windows. Here's a picture from the second floor of the Sandbar:
Another small group, mostly our staff members and their significant others as well as some local photographers, gathered on the roof. Here's what the view looked like from up there:
It's really amazing how the city crews can get everything set up and torn down in one day. According to the local paper, a lot of the materials will be recyced and used along the river trails. (I would link you to the article with more details, but I can't find it on their site at the moment.)
The next night, the women's long jump was held on 8th Street on the other side of Massachusetts. The crowd wasn't as large, but it was still really fun.
We definitely hope the city and KU Athletics continue holding this event downtown. It's a great activity for families and is something unique for our town. The only thing that could make it better? Bring the pole vault downtown!
One of our favorite events from last year, the Kansas Relays shot put, is coming back this week!
Join us this Wednesday on our block- 8th St. between Mass and New Hampshire- for a fun time. Officials will set up a throwing area, platform and spectator viewing area during the day. The shot put event will begin at 6 p.m. and it's pretty much right in front of the Sandbar.
Some of the top throwers in the world will participate, and there will be prizes and inflatable games for kids.
We're also pulling out our St. Patrick's Day float and setting it up as a stage for several bands- the Magentlemen for sure, and maybe another one- to play after the event.
Alcohol will be allowed in the street (only on that particular block, not all over downtown) and a bar will be set up outside.
Don't miss this! It's one of the marquee events of the 85th annual Kansas Relays. Come back downtown on Thursday for the long jump event, also on 8th Street on the other side of Mass, and head to Memorial Stadium this weekend for additional track and field events. And the world's largest plate of nachos.
The annual Walk MS, a fundraiser for the National MS Society, is coming up on April 28. The Sandbar has a team walking again this year.
Our friend Courtney, a regular patron from the 90s, was diagnosed with MS several years ago. We also have a number of other friends who have MS, and bartender Danny has been a huge fundraising machine for years now through Bike MS.
Courtney's Sandbar walk team has a donation page here. We'd love it if you made a donation, large or small, to our team. Our team's fundraising goal is $3000.
Or, walk with us! The more the merrier! You can join our team from the same link posted above.
If you'd like to donate to bartender Danny's effort, you can do that here. Even if you don't want to make a donation, you should check out his page; it features a picture of his team, the Fun Police, outside the bar on their bikes.
So, now that St. Patrick's Day is almost a month in the past, and we've waited nearly two weeks to post on our blog…TWO WEEKS! This has never happened before.
Here's more from this year's St. Patrick's Day…Patrick, Peach's brother, loves to shoot video. He brought out his camera (inside a crazy contraption that holds it steady) on St. Pat's and recorded our float.
Here are some videos:
This is a great video of our float. You can't hear the music until the boat gets closer to the camera, but it certainly shows off the boat in all its glory.
This one features the girls on the main deck dancing to the Drunken Sailor song. We loved their dance!
Many thanks to Patrick for filming our float and posting the videos!
Today's the day: the KU men's basketball team takes on Ohio State in the Final Four, the second time the teams will meet this year.
KU won the first round, and you might remember it was sort of a special event at the Sandbar. We hosted a live radio broadcast from the bar with Ryan Lencl and his show, the Angle of Pursuit. We're hoping KU can beat the Buckeyes for a second time!
The City of Lawrence and the Lawrence Police Department have been busy making plans for Saturday night in the event KU wins. Last Sunday, crowds of people flooded downtown Lawrence after the Jayhawks beat North Carolina, and if KU advances to the championship game tonight, the crowds downtown will be even bigger.
Something important to note: don't bring your car downtown.
If KU wins tonight, the city will close Massachusetts Street to traffic from 6th to 13th streets, and the side streets that cross Mass will also be closed. That means if you park downtown for the game, don't expect to leave anytime soon if KU is victorious.
You can read more about what the police department has to say about their plans here.
We'll be open at 1 p.m., our usual time, and we'll be ready and excited for the game!
This is going to be a busy weekend in downtown Lawrence!
Today is the last Friday of March, which means it’s Final Fridays- the monthly art walk that takes place downtown. The event generally runs from 5-9 p.m., although some locations might be open earlier or later. On Final Fridays, Mass Street is always full of people eating, drinking, shopping and perusing the great selection of art. It’s great for people-watching, too!
Saturday, of course, is the day of KU’s Final Four matchup against Ohio State. Bars and restaurants downtown will undoubtedly be packed as soon as they open. Some places were taking reservations and others are first come-first served. We’ll open at our normal time, 1 p.m., and we expect a crowd even though we aren’t your typical sports bar and we don’t have awesome TV’s.
Sunday is the 18th annual Brew to Brew Run, a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis that starts at Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City and ends in Lawrence on the levee, sort of near Free State Brewery. The event is expected to bring 3,500 people into downtown Lawrence.
I’m tired just writing about all the activities in downtown Lawrence this weekend! We’ll see you there!
The KU men's basketball team won a huge game last Sunday, beating North Carolina to win a spot in the 2012 Final Four.
Downtown Lawrence was crazy after the game! Traffic started backing up on Massachusetts Street as far back as 14th Street right after the game, and probably backed up even farther as the day got later. People packed downtown and the crowds got bigger all night.
Some of the bar band members put on an impromptu show at 8th and Massachusetts, and the Kennedy Glass float from the St. Patrick's Day Parade, a replica of Allen Fieldhouse, made an appearance too.
The city of Lawrence prepared well for this event, and the crowds were well-behaved even among the mayhem. Dave was surprised that so many people came downtown after this game, but the bar was prepared for it. He jokingly posted on his Facebook page that he was opening late on Monday because he didn't have anything left to sell- not entirely true, he didn't run out of beer completely, but it was definitely a great Sunday night.
Channel 6 News even interviewed Dave about the alcohol supply. You can read the article here.
Here's to hoping we have another fun weekend downtown!
This post is waaaay late, but I've been busy. Going back to work after a three-month maternity leave, adjusting to daycare and taking care of a sick baby keep a person busy and doesn't leave much time for blogging.
St. Patrick's Day was so much fun this year! The Sandbar construction crew built a ginormous pirate ship. This float was bigger than any we've built before.
Check out the LJWorld's coverage of the parade here, along with a fabulous photo of our ship. We might buy a copy of that one and frame it for the bar. The LJWorld talkbackers seem to think we build boats every year, but that's not true. We haven't built a boat since 2007, when we danced on a double decker riverboat, and before that it was 2004's Love Boat. Our last pirate ship was back in 2002.
Here's a picture from atop the float as it made its way down Mass Street:
The float had several decks for dancing pirates. The ladies on the middle deck improvised their dance moves and created a circle dance during the Drunken Sailor song. It looked so good that Dave the DJ kept playing that song over and over…and apparently it wore them out. Sorry, girls!
Our floats always have secret touches or inside jokes, and this year was no exception. In keeping with recent tradition, the pirate ship had his and hers bathrooms. And this year, two of our chief float builders decided to go on a cruise on a real ship instead of dancing on ours. Dave made sure they were still represented though:
These Justin and Michelle heads rode on the highest point of the float, up in the crow's nests. After the parade, we had a lot of fun posing for pictures with them.
As a thank you for missing the parade, Dave played a prank on them. He left a life-size statue of a pirate we call "Shaky" in the bathroom in their house. It scared the crap out of them when they got home. They'll never miss another parade again!
See more parade pictures on our Facebook page. Got pictures of our float? We'd love to see them! Email them to us at sandbar@thesandbar.com.
