ECSC teaming up with Vans, Monster Energy

Once again the East Coast Surfing Championships will be hitting our beaches at the end of this month. Hopefully this dry spell for swells means Mother Nature is saving it up for the contest. As usual they will have their amateur and professional surfing competitions but also mixed in will be an 8K race, the always popular swimsuit contest, volleyball and Wareing's Beach Bum Classic.

This will be the 48th year Virginia Beach has hosted this annual event but don't think there isn't anything new to bring to the table. Event planners are saying this year could be the biggest and most ambitious event ever.

Let's start with the name change. Beach goers will always recognize the ECSC name and logo but this year what comes in front of it may look a bit different. The official name of the event is 'Vans and Monster Energy present the Coastal Edge ECSC.' This is huge. The General Manager of ECSC, George Alcarez, says that the 'naming rights sponsorship agreement with Coastal Edge and presenting sponsors Vans and Monster Energy launches ECSC into a new category of sophistication, complexity and significance on the city's event calendar.

So what does the name change mean? Lots of things really. But overall it can mean bigger pay outs for the main events and other big name sponsors jumping on board. Ultimately, with the big names like Vans and Monster Energy attached to the contest, it could attract more surfers to the East Coast.

Some other new stuff this year will be a motocross stunt performance and a 'tow-at' trick style surfing demonstration. Also if you noticed, this year comp has expanded to a 5-day format starting on a Wednesday. US military special forces units will also be out putting on several tactical exhibitions.

So if you are not competing, what's in it for you? I am glad you asked. There will be fun things to watch throughout the five days of events. There will surfing, skim boarding, the World Sand Soccer Association Tournament, the US Beach Flag Football tournament, beach volleyball, cornhole, BMX extreme ramp riding, and the Wareing's Beach Bum Classic.

The Beach Bum Classic is Virginia Beach's version of a triathlon. It will consist of a beach run, beach cruiser bike ride and a surfboard paddle. Not so bad right?

For anyone interested in volunteering for the event, you can check that out here.

Also, you can add ECSC as a friend on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

And don't worry all you people coming in from out of town, VBHappyHour will have your entire 'social' itinerary laid out before you get here. We will show you the best deals for ECSC weekend. Stay tuned.

Happy Hour with your iPhone?

If you're like us at VBhappyhour.com - there are only a few things that you enjoy as much as food and drink deals - and your precious iPhone is one of them.

Food and drink specials are in the palm of your hand (literally) with the iPhone or iPod Touch, as you can access VBhappyhour.com using the Safari browser. Well, we've just made the home screen on your phone a little bit snazzier.

While browsing through our site, click the plus (+) sign on the bottom of your screen which will allow you to add a bookmark for www.VBhappyhour.com. Select the "Add to Home Screen" option and name the shortcut "VBhappyhour."

As you can see from the screenshot, you'll be just one click away from finding the best deals in Virginia Beach.

Cinco de Mayo

Any volunteers? I am sure there will be plenty of them. Unless you live in the state of Puebla in Mexico, your celebration of this Mexican holiday will be entirely voluntary.

A holiday that is more widely celebrated in the US than actual Mexico is a day to mark the unlikely victory of the Mexican Militia over French armies at the Battle of Puebla. A day that has long been celebrated by many, and probably incorrectly, as Mexico's Independence Day; a celebration reserved for September 16.

Though no matter how or why you celebrate Cinco de Mayo, this a day to break out your sombrero, bottle of tequila, and your biggest margarita glasses.

So while chips and salsa and tequila shots may be your year after year celebration tactic, try out these other spots that are having some muy bueno happy hour specials.

Big Apple Bar and Grill

Location: Holland Road

$1 tacos all night

$2 Corona/Pacifico

$3 Jose shots

$4 House Margaritas

H2O Beach Bar

Location: Shore Drive

$2.50 Coronas

$2 Cuervo

$5 Patron

Live music from The Dorleans

Bar-None

Location: Cleveland St. Near Town Center

Celebrating the 5's

$5 buckets of beer

$5 Patron shots

Buy one Patron shot, get second for $.05

These are just some of the deals going on in Virginia Beach for Cinco de Mayo. For more specials make sure you check out www.vbhappyhour.com

And after all your spending money goes to tequila and guacamole head to any Guadalajara location for free lunch on the 6th. Any location 11 am - 3 pm. Free lunch!

Remember, we want to see your happy hour pictures too! Be sure to add vbhappyhour on facebook and tag some pictures for our profile. Also you can follow us on twitter @vbhappyhour

Be safe and enjoy.

-vbhh

Wild Weekend at the Oceanfront

A Wild Wheels Cruisin' Weekend that is. It will be taking place at the municipal lot at 19th and Pacific down at the oceanfront. The event does cost money, but there will be some free stuff do down there at other spots along the boardwalk. Admission is $10 and free for kids age 12 and under.

Come check out Ben Jones, who you will recognize as 'Cooter' from Dukes of Hazard. Also you can see the 'General Lee' and some great live music.

Go take a look Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 10-5. For more info you can call (757) 491-7866.

And once you are done 'cruisin' there are a handful of places doing happy hour the right way. It is going to be a $2 kind of night. 22nd St Raw Bar has $2 Well Drinks and Domestic Beers while a couple streets up at CP Shuckers, they will be serving $2 Budweiser Drafts.

The weather is calling for a couple clouds, but will be mostly favorable at around 72 degrees all day long.

Be safe and enjoy.

-vbhh

SERTOMA - Saturday, April 17

Here at VBhapyhour.com, its no secret that our main focus is finding great deals on food and drink in Virginia Beach, but what is sometimes overlooked is that we really enjoy passing it along to you fine people. We like to think of ourselves as givers - regular people doing ordinary things to help others out.

And that is why we are very excited for this weekend - more specifically, Saturday, April 17 - and the reason is because of SERTOMA Spring Fever. This event is a culmination of everything we, at VBhappyhour.com, live for. The quick & dirty version is: all you can eat and drink, live music and good people - and the proceeds go towards SERTOMA (SERvice TO MAnkind), which is a community service organization that raises awareness and funds for helping speech and hearing-impaired children. (more information about SERTOMA can be found at http://norfolksertomaclub.org)

SERTOMA Spring Fever will commence at noon on Saturday, April 17 at the Holiday Travel Park on General Booth Blvd. Like I stated above, its an all you can eat and drink, raging party that doesn't stop until 6 p.m.

It always promises to be a good time. If you haven't already, you can buy tickets online (http://norfolksertomaclub.org) for $62 and pick them up at will-call the day of the event or you can buy your tickets at the door for $70, but be careful, they've been known to sell out.

Hope to see you all there! But if we don't, we're still gonna have a good time - after all, it's SERTOMA weekend.

Mai Bock Keg Tapping Party - Tuesday, April 6th

If you've never been to a keg tapping party at Gordon Beirsch in Town Center - you're definitely missing out. 50/50 raffles, appetizers, give-a-ways and $1 beers from whichever keg they're tapping. This Tuesday, April 6th, Gordon Beirsch is tapping their Mai Bock keg - my personal favorite seasonal brew.

The festivities start at 6pm, but make sure you get there early if you want a place to sit. It can get a little crowded, but they do a good job getting everybody served and there is plenty of $1 beer to go around.

See you there!

Ah the luck of the Irish

Ah the luck of the Irish is with us all. Well on St Patrick’s Day it will be. It is an annual feast day celebrating Saint Patrick. While a public holiday in most parts of Ireland, St Patrick’s Day in the US, as in many other countries, is widely celebrated but not recognized as a national holiday.

St Patrick’s Day is so infamous that although it falls during Lent, if it does fall on a Friday, the rules of fasting and abstaining from meats are superseded by those of St Paddy’s Day as a day of a first class feast eating the finest meats.

So how do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day in the US? We have parades of course. It has become almost an art form. Chicago, Boston, Savannah, and NYC have parades with some bringing in over 400,000 observers. Some cities paint their rivers green like those in Jamestown, NY. Others, like the ones on St Pat’s Board Alumni from Missouri University, paint 12 city blocks the color of the leprechaun; green.

But for those of us not going to parades it means house parties and backyard BBQs. So what better to bring than some homemade green beer. No, you are not going to make the beer; but you will make it green. And it is actually pretty easy to do so. Just add 5 to 6 drops of green food coloring to any light colored ale. It does work with the darker brews like Guinness, but only 5 or 6 drops is going to turn it a pale yellow color and I don’t think I need to remind you of what that looks like. The amount of food coloring it would take to turn a pint of Guinness green is the same amount it takes to turn your teeth green as well. So, if you want to have your teeth match your attire be my guest. But keep it simple, go with a light beer.

If green beer is not your thing or you want to impress your guest with some Irish drink making abilities try these cocktails:

Everybody’s Irish (at least today they are)

Ingredients:

2 oz Irish whiskey

1 Tbsp crème de menthe, green

1 Tbsp Chartreuse, green

cocktail olive for garnish

Preparation:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.

Shake well.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with the olive.

For those of you who like to mix your holidays, here is a great St Paddy’s Day drink with a side of Cinco de Mayo.

Irish Cactus

Ingredients:

2 oz Irish cream liqueur

1 oz tequila

Preparation:

Pour the ingredients into an old-fashioned glass with ice.

Stir.

All drink recipes were taken from http://cocktails.about.com No matter what you do this St Patrick’s Day make sure you do it safely and responsibly.

Erin Go Braugh!