Pacific Beach Town Council is prepping for one of its signature community events – the 14th Annual Graffiti Day Clean Up on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Volunteers once again this year will be purging PB of hundreds of graffiti tags. The event is being hosted by Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church where staging will occur at 1674 Garnet Ave. at the corner of Jewell Street. Free parking will be available around the corner on Hornblend.
Materials and training will be provided onsite. All ages are welcome and no experience is required. Minors can participate, however, they must have a safety waiver signed by their legal guardian. For waiver forms or more information, go to pbtowncouncil.org.
Last year’s event hosted 129 volunteers and collectively removed 730-plus graffiti tags and stickers. Compared to 2022, when 87 volunteers removed 600-plus tags, the 2023 event was a massive and growing success. The council expects this year’s clean-up to be even bigger and more productive.
PBTC board member and its Graffiti-Busters spokesperson Tony Schlegel, associate pastor at Pacific Life Church, said the clean-up has grown “from humble beginnings.”
“There were more and more tags and stickers messing up the community, so the town council said it was time, partnering with other community groups, to do something about it,” said Schlegel noting the size of, and participation in, the cleanup have expanded over time. “We’ve upped the number of locations where we look for stickers and graffiti,” he noted.
“We are pleased to host this wonderful community event that directly benefits Pacific Beach,” said PBTC president Charlie Nieto in the organization’s April newsletter. Nieto noted: “This event has become a cornerstone of our community’s efforts to combat graffiti and enhance the beauty of our neighborhood. Graffiti plagues every community in San Diego, but with the dedicated efforts of volunteers we ‘can’ make a difference.
“We invite you, your friends, and family to join us and see how this community-driven event can transform our neighborhood and business district into cleaner, more vibrant spaces.”
Nieto noted that PBTC provides the supplies, training, doughnuts, and coffee. “You provide the ‘can do’ attitude,” he said adding, “We look forward to seeing all you PB residents in attendance.”
Schlegel pointed out the town council continues to scout out tagging locations around town, the results of which are handled by Graffiti Busters’ core team member Jim Menders. He said Menders is the graffiti team’s “brains” who maps out all graffiti data as well as offering materials’ instruction to volunteers.
The graffiti-expunging effort will be greatly facilitated this year by Motsenbocker’s Lift Off, a spray paint and graffiti remover safe for vehicles, street signs, buildings, walls, floors, fiberglass, metal, tile, vinyl, plastic, brick and concrete. “It gets rid of the stickers and graffiti but doesn’t take the paint off,” said Schlegel noting graffiti eradication is truly a “year-round” process.
Planning for the annual Graffiti Day begins in March with bi-weekly meetings by the PBTC team responsible for directing the efforts of dozens of community volunteers.
Premiere sponsors for this year’s graffiti clean-up are Fitness West PB, and Pacific Beach Presbyterian, and Pacific Life churches. Other notable supporters of the event include Campland on the Bay, North Shores Printery, Pacific Beach Ice Cream Co., and Schoettle Financial.
“We’re getting the word out that this event is for all ages, that it’s family-friendly and that we do it every year,” Schlegel said.
For more information, visit pbtowncouncil.org/graffiti-day.
WANT TO HELP?
Sign up to volunteer at pbtowncouncil.org/graffiti-day.
