by Debbi | Mar 4, 2010 | Downtown, Events, St. Patrick's Day
We're very excited to announce that construction of our 2010 St. Patrick's Day Parade float has officially begun! It actually started last weekend, when the longer-than-usual trailer was delivered to our rented garage space, and some of the usual suspects hauled out their power tools and lumber.
This is at least our 14th or 15th year in a row to have a float in the annual parade. Our float, like the parade itself and the crowd that watches it, has grown bigger and better every year. Except maybe for 2008, the year of the Soggy Sandbarn– the torrential downpour that day kept lots of people away from the parade and made our dancers cranky.
Every float is our favorite one at that particular time, but the 2007 Showboat stands out as perhaps our largest undertaking ever (two levels of people!), and the 2003 Love Shack was a crowd favorite that featured a palm tree falling off the float and nearly crashing into the judge's table. Fortunately, no small children or animals were injured.
We're officially behind schedule since Mother Nature has been particularly uncooperative this year. But as long as it's sunny and somewhat warm on the big day, we're not complaining.
The Parade is held on Wednesday, March 17, at 1 p.m. It begins at South Park and travels north on Massachusetts Street and across the bridge, and then from there it's anyone's guess. The Flamingo Club is still the destination, but due to never-ending construction in North Lawrence, we don't know what the actual route will be yet. (We're just hoping that our enormous float will be able to make the trip through North Lawrence, actually.)
Become a fan of the Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade on Facebook, and RSVP to the Parade.
by Debbi | Feb 22, 2010 | Events, St. Patrick's Day
Did that get your attention?
The Sandbar sponsored a team at the 8th annual St. Patrick's Day Pub Quiz Trivia event last night. This event has traditionally opened the St. Patrick's Day season in Lawrence, although this year some other events have actually taken place already. We've had at least one team in this event every year since it started.
Our buddy/regular/go-to web guy Frank's business also sponsored a team this year. Between us, we originally had about 12 people committed to play, but one by one they started flaking claiming headaches and school work as excuses, so we ended up with eight. Which caused us to pool our brains and collapse our two teams into one. Good thing, too.
Art director Brother Pants named our team Frank's Dirty Banana. (You can take that however you want. We did.) Our category of choice was Train Songs. Our team members skewed heavily to the old-school crying country fan base, so we figured we'd own those questions. And we did, for awhile.
Our first important missed question: some long-winded diatribe about Johnny Cash and prison and we answered too quickly with the seemingly obvious "Folsom." Uh, no. The song title might have Folsom in it, but it was actually written about San Quentin, which practically every other team in the room knew.
Perhaps our more embarrassing miss of the night involved a question about The Sandbar's muse, Jimmy Buffett. Did you know that Bono, lead singer of U2, was on Jimmy's plane with him when they were shot at by Jamaican authorities who thought the plane was smuggling drugs? Yeah, neither did we. We've all heard the story behind the song "Jamaica Mistaica," (from the Banana Wind album), but we don't even have a U2 song on the jukebox and would've never guessed who the passenger on the plane was.
Andy, the announcer, was happy to point out that The Sandbar missed a Jimmy Buffett question. We like to say that we were Scottie-Mack'd. Twice.
We redeemed ourselves somewhat by answering the final question correctly:
(image borrowed from Sandbar friend & fellow trivia player, Chris Pumpelly, who posted this on his Twitter stream.)
It wasn't enough to land us in the top three, but we managed to end up with a respectable score.
Congrats to the team from The World Company, who knocked off the consistent winners from Tabula Rasa to take first place this year!
Do you know the answer to the final question? Leave it in the comments.
by Debbi | Feb 18, 2010 | Bar Band, Events, St. Patrick's Day
That's a lot of stuff for one title- and it's also a summary of our upcoming Friday (February 19) night at The Sandbar.
Here's a breakdown of what's happening:
Tacos
For many years we've had free wings after work on Friday, ordered from our neighbors up the street at Jefferson's. While we love the wings and adore our friends at the restaurant, we wanted to mix it up a little and try something new.
So, we're having a free taco bar starting at 5 and ending when the tacos run out. Stop by and enjoy one, and let us know what you think!
Beads
The St. Patrick's Day Parade (our favorite event of the year!) committee folks will be pub-crawling around Lawrence on Friday night between 6:30-9:30. They'll have armloads of beads, t-shirts, caps, and other commemorative parade stuff for sale. Buy something or make a donation- it's for the kids!
And don't forget the annual parade this year. It's on Wednesday, March 17, at 1 p.m. Get downtown early to get a good spot, and make sure to watch for the Sandbar's float!
Bands
Everybody's favorite Lawrence pre-game-night tradition, the Bar Band will arrive around 9:45 and play your favorite KU tunes. It gets pretty crowded while they're here, so make sure to get here early if you want to see them.
Even if you can't get in the door, the doorguy usually keeps the door open during this extravaganza. Everyone in line (and down the block) can hear the band playing.
Toast
And finally, the toast. Friday, February 19, is also known as "St. Practice Day." It's the day of the annual Great Guinness Toast, which takes place at 10 p.m. The Toast started in 1993 in Pittsburgh, and breaks its own participation record each year.
I'm not sure how we're going to pull off all of this, since 10 p.m. is a popular time that night. What do you think of the Bar Band dressed up as mermaids and playing during the indoor hurricane, while the crowd around them is toasting with Guinness?
by Debbi | Jan 16, 2010 | Events, Good Things, St. Patrick's Day
What's on your calendar for next Saturday, January 23? Nothing, you say? Well, we've got plans for you.
St. Patrick's Day might seem like a long time away, but the Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee is already busy planning events to raise money for this year's chosen charities. Yes, there's a parade, but there's also loads of other events that start this month.
Next Saturday night is the first fundraiser: Casino Night! Here's the details:
- Saturday, January 23
- Eagles Lodge, 1803 W 6th Street
- 7 pm to 10 pm
- $5 for 50 chips
A BBQ buffet will be open from 6 pm to 8 pm for the low cost of $10.00.
And of course there's prizes! Businesses and individuals from all over Lawrence and Kansas City donate tons of great prizes to the St. Patrick's Day committee every year.
If you're looking for something fun to do on Saturday, consider Casino Night. You'll be helping out a great Lawrence tradition raise money for several great local charities that assist children. Read about them here.
See you there!
by Debbi | Jan 12, 2010 | Random Questions, St. Patrick's Day
One thing that excites us every time a new year rolls around is the fact that St. Patrick's Day– our favorite holiday!- is near. March 17 may not seem near to you, but trust me, this part of the year flies by for us.
The decision-makers met for lunch yesterday and this year's float theme was unveiled. Of course it's still a secret, so don't expect me to spill the beans here, but it's a good one. Of course.
This year's theme was inspired during a random impromptu pool party last summer. We've got the float, the music, and even the costumes nearly figured out. And honestly, we can't believe we've never come up with this one before.
What do you think our best float ever was? A few years ago we asked this question, and the readers chose the Love Shack float from 2003.
Here's another poll, with some more recent float selections. Vote for your favorite, and if it's not one of the choices leave us a comment! If you can't remember some of them, check out our St. Patrick's Day archives for stories and pictures.
by Debbi | Sep 17, 2009 | Events, Guest Blogs, St. Patrick's Day
In case you didn't notice, today is September 17. In Sandbar-land, that also means it's halfway to our favorite holiday: St. Patrick's Day!
In honor of the blessed event, our Friday bartender Phil composed this invitation to all our friends.
Top O'the Mornin', Noon 'n Night to ya's ….
'Tis the season for 'The Wearin' O' the Green' once again !!!
This beloved Thursday, today, is the very quintessential September 17th …. which so happens to be 'The Half Way' point, to the very auspicious day of Glorified Celebration indeed …. Saint Paddy's Day!!! I will be urging ye to celebrate this momentous day at your local pub! And if you find yourself in our quaint village then I'll be asking ye to pay heed to this announcement……
So on the morrow, Friday that be, in honor of surviving till halftime, the lovely Miss Heather O'Bunker and The Phil of Clan McBradley will be throwin' down a ShamRockin' Party and a Celebration at Ye Olde Sandbar, that ye's won't wanna be missin' now. Sure, The Lads and Lasses will be enjoying the specials and the very Irish Dirty Banana Shots are a mere $2.00 a trifle don’t ye know…. and The Blarney is FREE all day long.
Toppin' the evening all off, with grand cuisine from the emerald isle, complementary o' Hot Wings (while they last) …. and then Kickin' it up a notch more, with the most honorable Dave and the evening lads and lasses. This will surely be an Arse Kickin' good time for Families, Friends and All to enjoy the night away.
In other words: stop by on Friday to celebrate the halfway point, enjoy some wings and Dirty Banana shots, and see what antics Heather and Phil and the late night crew have planned.
