Portage Community Revitalization Corporation members are planning the last community clean-up of the year.

The final clean sweep will be Aug. 15 from 3-6 p.m. outside the PCRC office on Royal Road in Portage la Prairie. The event will include a special appreciation to all the volunteers who have helped in the clean-up efforts over the year. There will be live entertainment, door prizes and a free barbecue.

Carrie-Anne Lander, Neighbourhood Safety Co-ordinator with PCRC, is looking forward to the big event.

"It has gone quite well," she said of the year. "We had three clean-ups and we are having another one on Aug. 15. It's our wind-up clean up. I think it will be our best turn out yet. We have invited all the previous participants. It should be good."

PCRC executive director Elicia Funk believes the clean-up projects have really been a success and PCRC wants to thank the participants.

"It's also our volunteer appreciation," she said. "We'll have some fun and prizes, and maybe some music."

"Our summer students -- their term is just about up as well," added Funk.

The appreciation event is also to support people who have volunteered to sign-up for a Keep It Clean team, to take care of their own neighbourhood block clean-up going forward.

PCRC is thrilled with the success of the clean-up project. Recent news of vandals leaving graffiti marks on local businesses over the past week has been rather upsetting however.

"It is frustrating," said Funk. "It's disappointing seeing higher graffiti and vandalism show up when community members have been working so hard to clean up Portage la Prairie. We've got so many people who are passionate about the community and keeping it clean. Seeing something like that happening is really disheartening. But we are happy the RCMP were able to apprehend a couple of people, and hopefully deter them from doing more vandalism in the future."  

Despite the recent rash of vandalism, the PCRC has noticed a positive difference since the clean- up project has started.

"It's been looking good; we have also been doing our graffiti removal program," said Funk. "That has really been adding to the look of the areas we have been cleaning up. Not only have we been cleaning up litter, but we have been able to clean up graffiti. It's coming along. What we are really excited about as well is that we have businesses and community members sign up to be part of the Keep It Clean team, and adopting blocks -- that they are going to keep clean on an ongoing basis. That's really exciting."

angela.brown@sunmedia.ca