by Kelly Moad
Have a seat in the shade and let the water tickle your toes. Sounds good to me. Mark Porretto is providing that very accommodation to all beach goers. He sets up shop in a few locations along the 27 miles of public beach. Mark and his crew beautify the area; they groom the sand, arrange many lounge chairs with brightly colored umbrellas, and rent them out daily to anyone who wishes to soak up the sun. “Mark is raking the sand and cleaning the area in addition to adding this colorful site. When we look for positive value to our beach, having the beach clean is number one. Thanks Mark!” says Carole H.
Sure, there are a vast majority of us that rent or own homes down in Crystal Beach and Bolivar. We load up our golf carts and trucks with all the essentials for the day. But, there are also the passersby that greatly enjoy the freedom and ease of stumbling upon Mark’s gorgeous, inviting lounge area. They too can take advantage of what we all know to be relaxing and serene. Sometimes you just want to walk down to the beach and sit in a chair with only your drink and book in hand. “It seems your ‘beach chair sitters’ take pride in their surroundings as well,” comments Rubyreddog. Mark simply wants beach goers to feel welcome! “Crystal Beach needs to be revived again and that is exactly what this entrepreneur is trying to do,” states 4TX4.
Not everyone, however, is in favor of Mark’s setup. Some believe he is “hogging the beach”, leading to “additional traffic through our neighborhoods”, and coming over here from Galveston to “make money in our community”. Of course this is a public beach and we should all have the freedom to drive up and down the beach and set up camp wherever we see fit. “The fact that people driving up and down the beach have to slow down or ‘slam on their breaks’ when passing up the beautifully colored chairs and umbrellas is a welcome thing and I am pretty sure the police appreciate it too,” says 4TX4. CarolynS recommends: “Don’t set up the chairs. Rent them and let people do what they do now. Let them find a place to set up. This allows residents and visitors an equal opportunity to carve out their little piece of the beach.”
Mark may not be a resident, but his entrepreneurial venture is beautifying the beach and, in turn, certainly bringing more business to our community, in one way or another. Beach goers will sit and soak up the sun for a while, but they will always need to eat and shop at some point. And of course, once you’ve visited Crystal Beach and Bolivar one time, you will most definitely return again!
Posted in 
Thanks Mark for bringing a little “color” back to Crystal Beach!!!
I think it brings crystal beach up a notch. The are about 30 miss of beach. I am sure there is plenty f room for all. We have to do the same when we are on the beach. Rake the area, set up the chairs and umbrella. I am sure that someone coming for just the day would pay for this. Glad to see it.
Bring on the chairs! Love the idea. Set some up at the end of Crystal Beach Road (by the jet ski people).