A beloved sandcastle sculptor has been banned from working outside a luxury beachfront hotel due to “political messages” in his artwork.
Bill Pavlacka claimed he was told to leave his spot outside the historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego County after 20 years for using a Mark Twain quote in one of his pieces.
He previously made other works containing the phrases “I love democracy” and “I love freedom of speech,” which he admitted he was warned about over the last year.
Pavlacka claimed the hotel also accused him of drinking on the job and even asked to inspect his cooler while he worked, but he insisted it was the Twain quote that was “the last straw.”
The quote read: “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
Pavlacka said he got a tap on the shoulder from the Del manager Nick, who dragged him to an upstairs office to reprimand him.
He shared a letter withCBS 8allegedly from the hotel addressing “conduct that violated policies”, which include “political or controversial messages.”
He told theCoronado Times: “I couldn’t believe it. I was just thinking in my head, what is this about? I love doing my art. This is what I do. It’s fun and people appreciate it.”
Pavlacka continued: “He told me this the final straw. That this message was totally unacceptable.”
He added: “I thought Mark Twain was a loved American writer. I actually thought the quote was kind of funny. And they didn’t say that any hotel guests complained.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
