The Sandbar...Home of the Indoor Hurricane!

Zombie Clown at the Sandbar

(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.

Happy Homecoming, Sandbar Jayhawks!

Hey friends!

In case you haven't heard, this weekend is KU's annual Homecoming. It also happens to be the 100th Homecoming on the Hill, which is a pretty big deal.

You know we love a good parade, and even though we don't have a float in this one, be sure to check out the Homecoming parade. It's on Friday night this year, which is a good thing since the football game kicks off early at 11 a.m. And if you aren't partying with us on our Rocky Horror Picture Show haunted bus extravagana, then you might as well check out the parade.

After the parade, make your way to the Adams Alumni Center for a pep rally. Our buddy Scott is going to be the DJ, and they'll have all the usual pep rally stuff like the band and cheerleaders.

And then, come see us! The Lawrence Bar Band is headed out on the town again, and according to their Twitter account, they'll be making some extra surprise stops Friday night. Follow them for more information.

The bar will be B-U-S-Y on Friday night, so get here early and be prepared to stand in line. And it'll be busy on Saturday, too. Tailgate in the morning, enjoy the game and then come downtown to eat, drink and shop.

Happy Homecoming, Jayhawks!

Wedding Parties and Hunters

Last week I promised more stories from Homecoming weekend, but I also wanted pictures, and unfortunately someone kept leaving the camera at the bar. 

I talked about the Bar Band already but didn't mention some Very Important People who stopped by to see them play. Peach and Ted, creator and long-time owners of The Sandbar, don't visit very often anymore because they're so busy running their other four businesses, plus a farm, plus family, and all the other stuff they're involved in. But every once in awhile they make an appearance, and Friday was one of those times.

The Bar Band was lined up outside and ready to play, but we had to ask them to wait until Peach and Ted could get here. They had some hunters staying at the Lodge of Baldwin City- Italian hunters here by way of Pennsylvania. Of course they had to see an indoor hurricane in Kansas while they're here!

 

(Just in case you couldn't tell who the hunters were, I drew a nice arrow and wrote their names on the picture.)

At just about the opposite end of the spectrum that night, we also entertained a wedding party. But not just any wedding party- the groom is the cousin of Hayley, our Wednesday (and sometimes weekend) bartender.

Chris is in medical school and lives in Colorado, and he got married in Lawrence on Friday. After the wedding and reception, much of the party traveled to The Sandbar, where of course the bride and groom danced on the bar in their wedding finery.

 

It's not the first time a bride and groom have been fun-loving enough to hop up on the bar and dance, and it probably won't be the last. It's always fun when the couple is part of the extended Sandbar family though. 

Congratulations to Chris and his new bride, and Hayley's family!

Friday Homecoming Fun: First Time Mermaids

Homecoming weekend at The Sandbar was tons of fun for all of us! Lots of old and new friends paid us a visit, and there are so many stories. We'll pick some of our favorites to share this week.

Friday night brought in a Sandbar favorite during football season: the Bar Band.  The performers showed up right before 10 pm and definitely didn't disappoint! We had a full house waiting to sing, dance, and clap along, and a whole bunch of people had to watch from their spot in line. It's truly a neat experience, and if you've never been in our tiny bar while a marching band plays the KU fight song- well, you need to add that to your list.

We had a special group of people in Friday night that I want to mention. Last summer, The Sandbar hosted a "tweetup," which is basically an off-line gathering of Twitter users and a way for them to meet in real life. It was a great success, and many of our Twitter followers come in on a regular basis. A spontaneous tweetup occurred on Friday night- it was suggested online during the day, and the group made it's way to The Sandbar in time to catch the band.

A couple of the girls from the group had never been mermaids before- and you know as soon as we hear someone say that, they become the next volunteer! The hurricane blew through the bar shortly after the Bar Band left, and Dave led everyone through the dance routines. A crazy boy even jumped up on the bar in the middle of all the girls and showed off his dance moves. That *never* happens at The Sandbar. 

After we all got down from the bar, I discovered that our friend Susan had never been on the bar before. This might not be surprising to you, but Susan has been coming to The Sandbar for at least a decade, I think! Proves there's a first time for everything.

More stories to come this week from Homecoming weekend, so check back! 

Peace. Love. The Sandbar.

Happy KU Homecoming Week! This year's theme is Peace.Love.Jayhawks.- borrowed and modified for this post's heading. Homecoming weekend likely means a stop at The Sandbar for many returning alumni as well as those of us who live here year-round. And we're all about peace and love here, too.

There have been loads of events taking place on campus all week, but if you can't be here until this weekend, there's still plenty to do according to the KU Homecoming website.

You'll want to wake up bright and early on Saturday morning. The annual Homecoming parade starts at 9 am on Jayhawk Boulevard, and there's a pancake feed on the lawn of Stauffer Flint from 9-11 am. And of course, the tailgating! Whether you go to an officially organized tailgate or put your own together with family and friends, tailgating is one of the most fun parts of game day!

The Jayhawks take on Iowa State on Saturday, and kick-off time is 11:30 am.

We don't love early game times because it makes for a really long day at the bar, especially after people have already been drinking all day, but it's better than a 6 pm game.

We normally open at 1 pm on Saturdays, but we're hoping to open up early this weekend. Not sure what time yet, but check our Twitter feed (also on the right side of this page) for the most recent updates.

As always, our Friday and Saturday drink specials will be $3 well drinks and $2 Dirty Banana shots. Lately, we've also been featuring our Big Wave Dave shots, also known as the Fail Whale for our Twitter followers, for $2 on both days also. 

Happy Homecoming and we can't wait to see all our old friends who are back in town this weekend!

At Least the Party was Fun

Homecoming weekend was perhaps a little bitter due to the crushing loss on the football field, but thankfully people recovered enough to go out and have a little bit of fun afterwards.

The Sandbar was pretty busy by 3 p.m. on Saturday, and by the time the shift change took place at 5, it was packed. The early crowd clamored for a hurricane, and with the scene inside the bar, you'd never know it was the middle of the afternoon and not late at night.

Former Sandbar-tender Bob and his lovely pregnant wife Ashley were in town for the game and made a stop at the bar, where they were gifted with a Sandbar onesie. If you know of a baby who needs a Sandbar onesie, we have a few left at the bar. Most of them are small short-sleeved ones sized for 3-6 months, but there are a couple of long-sleeved ones in XL left too.

The bar stayed busy all night- either people really needed to drown their sorrows, or they moved on really quickly from the football loss and wanted to party.

Next party up, Halloween.  Check back soon for information about our plans.

Come Home for Homecoming

Homecoming at KU is this weekend, and you know what that means- The Sandbar will be packed all weekend. Last year we entertained the fine fans from Nebraska; this year we'll see if the fans from Texas Tech are as gracious and fun.

Join us on Friday night for the Bar Band extravaganza that takes place the night before every home football game. They usually appear around 9:30 and play all the favorite KU songs, and every once in awhile they'll throw in a Sandbar tune like "Margaritaville."

On Saturday, head over to The Sandbar after the early game and enjoy the rest of the afternoon downtown. Let's hope it's a nice day that allows us to open the windows and enjoy a cool breeze.

It's great fun every year at Homecoming to see all of our old regulars who may only get back to Lawrence once or twice a year. If you have any great pictures of The Sandbar from Homecoming weekends in years past, email them to us or upload them to our Flickr group. And if you take any this year be sure to send those too!

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend is Homecoming Weekend at the University of Kansas. We always know it will be extra busy at The Sandbar, with all the Jayhawk alumni descending upon downtown Lawrence trying to relive their college days, along with the regular busy-ness that is a normal weekend.  Add to that, there almost always are fans of whatever football team KU is playing the following day who arrive on Friday and are out on the town looking for entertainment.

Last night was no exception.  A small group of middle-aged Nebraska fans, all sporting bright red attire that broadcast their allegiance, were happily drinking Bahama Mamas and frozen hurricanes early in the night.  And despite whatever preconceived notions you might have about Nebraska fans, these fans were cool.  They were friendly to the regulars and were clearly there to enjoy the atmosphere, not to start a turf war.

The bar band made their usual night-before-a-home-game appearance.  adidas generously donated their t-shirts and Dave printed the Sandbar logo on the front with "Bar Band" underneath.  {Several of my girlfriends who were Marching Jayhawks in college now covet these shirts.}  It was really fun to watch The Sandbar crowd cheer on the Bar Band. And the really cool part? The Nebraska fans got into the music- including the KU Fight Song- just as much as the predominantly Jayhawk friendly crowd.