Shiver me timbers — “The Bubble Pirate” was busted at Scripps Park.
Sandy Snakenberg, a local performer who has been creating bubbles at the park near La Jolla Cove for years, was ticketed by a park ranger Aug. 24, and not for reasons one might suspect.
It wasn’t for a violation of the city of San Diego’s regulations on “expressive activity” but rather because the bubbles he creates were alleged to be a pollutant.
Earlier this year, as an amendment to its 2022 ordinance intended to regulate sidewalk vendors, the city created 4-by-8-foot expressive activity zones in Scripps Park and other areas where performers and others with free-speech protections are directed to go on a first-come, first-served basis.
Snakenberg was not in an expressive activity zone at the time of his citation. But he was ticketed on an allegation of “littering prohibited fluids” on grounds that the solution used to make his large bubbles could damage the grass when the bubbles pop.
Snakenberg sometimes forms thousands of small bubbles or large single bubbles that he calls “bubble dragons.” He’s often dressed as a pirate.
The ticket he received cites a section of the San Diego municipal code that states “it is unlawful to leave or scatter about any boxes, empty or otherwise, waste paper, remains of meals, newspaper, tobacco, remains of any material capable of being smoked, or rubbish of any kind, except that such material and matter may be deposited in receptacles provided for such purpose.”
The citation came after park rangers tried to tell Snakenberg “numerous times that the residual substances from the bubbles are in violation of the city’s municipal code as it relates to littering,” said city spokesman Benny Cartwright. “After witnessing numerous violations and receiving complaints from other park users, rangers issued the lowest-level citation available.”
Given his frequent use of the park and run-ins with rangers, Snakenberg said he wasn’t surprised by the citation and that he had been “given a heads-up by the community” that enforcement might be coming.
However, he said he questions whether the complaints the city received were about him, saying his practices are different from other performers who use bubbles.
“I’m not doing anything wrong,” Snakenberg said. “The rangers said my solutions are harming the grass, but I make it myself and know that it doesn’t harm the environment. I tested it on a friend’s property by pouring it out on the lawn and there was no damage. I have talks with the parents with the safety of my solutions. I’m really big on environmental safety and audience safety.”
He said he places a tarp in the area where he creates the bubbles and disposes of any excess bubble solution offsite.
He said other performers are less cautious.
“Two years ago, two other people started working there, but they are not so friendly,” he said. “They slosh their solution all over the place, play loud music and can be aggressive. I have warned them about it. I think some of the complaints were about them. That’s why I deliberately go by The Bubble Pirate so I’m not just another bubble guy.”
Snakenberg, a self-described “bubble-ologist” who said he is a disabled homeless veteran and lives in his van, intends to appear for his citation hearing but doesn’t intend to pay a fine or stop performing.
“I’m not going to quit because I’m not doing any harm,” he said. “If I was doing something wrong, I wouldn’t be doing it. But I will be coming back against the rangers’ advice.”
Cartwright said the city “values the rights of community members to engage in expressive activity in city parks, including artistic expression. This does require those engaging in these activities to do so in accordance with other city codes and regulations, including those related to littering and disposal of waste.” ♦