Children’s Entertainer Who Makes Giant Soap Bubbles Cited For “Fluid Littering”

Sandy Snakenberg is a dastardly criminal, apparently, with a menacing alias: The Bubble Pirate. It sends chills up your spine, doesn’t it? Snakenberg’s crimes are almost too heinous to mention here, but we’re VICE, and, damn it, we bring you the hard news, raw and unfiltered. Snakenberg’s horrific crime is, as his citation states, littering with a “prohibited fluid.”

You see, Snakenberg is a disabled veteran who posts up at a public beach in San Diego called La Jolla Cove, where he entertains children by making kick-ass giant bubbles. Oh, the horror. He says the homemade bubble solution he uses is non-toxic. But city officials claim that while that may be the case, using up to 6 gallons of the stuff a day builds up residue and could damage the grass.

“They’re cracking down on other bubble people, not just me,” Snakenberg told KTVU, in what should be a wake-up call to any bubble people reading this.

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The specific rule in the San Diego Municipal Code that his ticket claims he’s breaking is for general littering: “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.”

Snakenberg said he’s been performing in local parks for years without a problem. He says he tries to minimize the environmental impact of his entertaining soap bubbles that make children clap with joy by laying down tarps and responsibly disposing of unused solution. 

The heartless local officials don’t care. They say he still littering, regardless of any precautions he may take. Snakenberg has to appear in court in October for the low-level offense. 

In all seriousness, hopefully, city officials and Snakenberg can reach some kind of agreement so that a veteran who is just trying to entertain children in the park with some cool giant bubbles can continue to make people happy. Six gallons does sound like a lot, but he certainly seems to be trying to minimize any damage.

Snakenberg, ever the artist, intends to keep putting on his bubble shows. Keep fighting the good fight, Bubble Pirate.