Roslyn Bar Wars 2017 Was Epic!
25 Aug 2017 Leave a Comment
in Events, Inside Roslyn Tags: Bar Wars, Eagles, Marko's, Roslyn, Water balloon
Bar Wars was another epic event this year – the biggest battle yet! Congratulations and thanks for all of the great participation, donations, and outstanding sportsmanship! For those that don’t know, Bar Wars is an annual water balloon war between the patios of Marko’s Place and the Roslyn Eagles. This year, the trophy went to Marko’s, but the real winners are the charities this event is designed to support. The event raised nearly $3000 to split between ARRF and the Roslyn Library.
As previously noted, the only word that accurately describes this year’s event is “epic!” All totalled, over 12,000 water balloons were thrown. Eagles came on strong early, barraging Marko’s with a torrent of balloons. Paired with the blaring Star Wars Soundtrack echoing out of the Eagles patio sound system, the 696 were truly 
laying down liquid terror from the sky. However, before long, Marko’s was able to push their way out into no-man’s land and fight from the alley (thanks largely to custom shields many participants made in advance of the battle). In addition to balloons and shields, there was also no shortage of super soakers, giant sling shots, and water buckets. Marko’s even had an archer (armed with a water balloon firing bow) laying down sniper fire from the neighboring Hideaway’s patio. Then, just as the mayhem seemed to reach its peak, insurgents joined in from the street with the full power of the Roslyn Fire Department. Both the Eagles and Marko’s had no choice but to endure the drenching wrath of the fire hoses – which many likened to being affronted by one of the dragons in Game of Thrones. Through it all, both sides battled fiercely until every Bar Wars T-Shirt worn by the Eagles and every superhero costume worn by many of the Marko’s fighters were soaked to the core. About 45 minutes after the battle began, referee Gus blew the horn to signal war time had once again transitioned back to peace.
Thanks also to everyone who went above and beyond to raise money ahead of the event as well. Raffle prizes and fund raising efforts supported by The Roslyn Candy Company, The Roslyn Grocery, Northwest Bicycle Improvement Company, Hope Gallery, Cicely’s Gift Shop, Roslyn Rags, Fused, Whole Pet, Jeb’s Pet Supply, the Eagles, The Roslyn Roadhouse and WhyRoslyn were all essential to the success of the event! Congrats on a great Bar Wars, and see you all again in 2018!
The Eagles Flew Home with the Trophy
28 Aug 2015 Leave a Comment
in Events Tags: Bar Wars, Water balloon
The Eagle’s Club took the trophy this year at the Second Annual Roslyn Bar Wars Water Balloon Battle. The trophy that sat proudly for a year in the window at Marko’s Place is now sitting inside the Aerie 696. Though the Eagles took the prize this year, the real winners are ARRF and the Roslyn Library, who will be splitting the $1000 raised at this year’s event. The event was well attended at both venues and the streets were crowded with innocent observers and under-aged insurgents.
This year’s battle was scored on 3 criteria: most spirit and enthusiasm (won by Eagle’s), hardest fought battle (won by Marko’s), and most money raised (won by Eagle’s). In addition to over 2000 balloons, participants on both sides battled with hoses, buckets, super soakers and squirt guns. The Eagles had a massive slingshot to launch balloons deep into Marko’s territory, but Marko’s didn’t go down easy. In one instance, the Marko’s team even pushed into Eagles territory and stole some of their ammo. Thanks to all who participated! More photos are available here!
Marko’s vs Eagles 2014 Water Balloon War
17 Aug 2014 1 Comment
in Events, Inside Roslyn Tags: Eagles 696, Marko's Place, Roslyn, Water balloon
The Marko’s vs Eagles Water Balloon War took place Saturday under clear skies in 80 degree heat. The weather was perfect for the wet, wild splash fest that ensued. On top of it being a good time for all involved, it also raised over $600 that will be split between ARRF and the Roslyn Library.
This year, Marko’s took home the trophy, but it was a challenging (and protested) decision. There were three primary criteria for winning: enthusiasm, revenue raised for charity, and overall badass-ness. Enthusiasm went to the Eagles. The Eagle’s had many enthusiastic participants and rained a storm of water balloons down on Marko’s (Eagles easily had double the amount of balloons as Marko’s). Likewise, at times, the entire Eagles patio would empty out as the participants brought the war to Marko’s front door. Contrarily, the revenue category went to Marko’s. Though it was only a slight difference, Marko’s tipped the scales back in their direction by raising just a little more money for the causes. This made the final decision come down to overall badass-ness, which was a challenging category for the judges. To help paint a picture, here are some quick highlights of the battle:
- Â Tom (Eagles) would often run solo missions, barging into enemy territory to wreak havoc -Â frequently soaking Marko’s with their own supplies.
- Â Becky and Tina (Marko’s) were a suicide squadron waging close proximity battles at the Eagles (even being taken hostage at one point).
- Â Mid battle, a team of anarchist warriors (who fight for no side) showed up in the middle of the two patios to wage war on both establishments.
-  Justin (Eagles) had the golden arm. His aim was spot on and he pegged numerous targets on the head, chest and everywhere else. At one point, he even took out an embedded photo journalist.
- Â The battle started with balloons, but quickly escalated to super soakers, buckets and even garden hoses.
Certainly, there was no clear winner in badass-ness up until one of the very last moves of the war. Marko’s sent a spy. Daniel waited patiently at the Eagles and was accepted as one of their own – until everyone’s guard was down. Then, he calmly walked up to Jim (President of the Eagle’s Platoon) and shouted “Go Marko’s” as he doused him in a bucket of water from the Eagle’s own fill station. In one shady swoop, this strategy tipped the scales ever so slightly toward Marko’s for the win.
