It’s time again for community-minded volunteers to grab their buckets and head out to the 15th Annual Graffiti Cleanup sponsored by Pacific Beach Town Council on Saturday, May 10.

Rain or shine, the cleanup starts at 9 a.m. and lasts until noon. Tag-removers will gather at Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church, 1675 Garnet Ave. at the corner of Jewell. Volunteers including neighbors, elected officials, and first responders, furnished with all necessary cleaning materials, will then filter out across the beach community to eradicate hundreds of graffiti tags, stickers, and other marks of vandalism.

“This event has become a significant community effort in combating graffiti and maintaining the beauty of our coastal neighborhood,” said PBTC president Charlie Nieto. “PB’s collective support and participation for 15 years now has been instrumental in making this event a success. All students, families, young adults, groups, and more that become graffiti cleanup volunteers love working together to make a meaningful difference in our community.”

Nieto noted that 2024’s graffiti cleanup involved over 130 volunteers and removed 700-plus graffiti tags and other vandalism marks. “This year, for 2025, we hope to surpass even that record to celebrate 15 years of incredible work done by our ‘Graffiti Buster’ task force,” he said while encouraging volunteers to “join us in our efforts to keep our neighborhoods and business district clean and vibrant. We provide the supplies, training, doughnuts, and coffee. Volunteers only need to bring some elbow grease and a can-do attitude.”

Nieto added this year’s cleanup is further made possible by the generosity of 2025’s event premier sponsors including Motsenbocker’s Lift-Off, PB Presbyterian Church, PB Ice Cream Co., and Fitness West PB.

Technological advancements are making graffiti removal easier. Before 2024, graffiti images with GPS tags were added to a master map by hand. Since then, graffiti has been added to the master map directly by surveyors as they collect images using a new app. This advancement in graffiti-busting technology was made possible by Graffiti Buster and digital map expert Lindsay Wiener, who implemented the new app-based survey technology.

PBTC’s cleanup event has grown from humble beginnings. Of the event’s origin, PBTC member Tony Schlegel has noted: “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.”

Schlegel added the council continuously expands the number of locations where they search out tags and stickers. Those results are then turned in with all locations mapped out showing graffiti data, as well as offering materials’ instruction to removal volunteers.

Graffiti-expunging efforts have also been greatly facilitated 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. He added planning for the Annual Graffiti Cleanup event begins in March with bi-weekly meetings by the PBTC team responsible for directing the efforts of dozens of community volunteers.

“The Annual Graffiti Cleanup is a great reminder of how quickly change happens when a community comes together to get things done,” concluded Nieto. He added, “PBTC is proud to host this event, and we are enthusiastically waiting to see just how much of a positive impact we can make this year. We look forward to a wonderful community event.”

Safety waivers and community service certificates will all be provided on-site. For more information, visit pbtowncouncil.org.