What could be more sublime than a pleasant summer day strolling down a cool tree-lined street, sipping a glass of wine, admiring world-class art, and enjoying music all along the way. It’s the perfect time of year to enjoy the many world-class festivals that make summer such a special time of year in the San Francisco Bay Area. Celebrating the best of summer festival season in style is Connoisseurs’ Marketplace, Menlo Park’s popular festival of visual, performing and culinary arts. Every year on the third weekend in July, charming Santa Cruz Avenue is transformed into a moveable feast with big crowds and a colorful sea of tents. Presented by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce, this year’s 22nd annual festival will be held on July 19-20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with thousands of visitors pouring onto the downtown streets for a vibrant celebration of art, music, food, and all-around family fun.
Chaired by longtime Menlo Park resident and businessman Rick Ciardella, the 2008 festival introduces a new feature called “Organic Alley” –– a tented area offering tasty samples from local organic purveyors –– as well as the debut of Pacific Fine Arts, the festival’s new art coordinator bringing a fresh infusion of highly-regarded artistic talent. The festival also plans to continue its greening efforts. “We’re committed to making the festival as eco-friendly as possible –– it’s something we strive to improve upon each year,” said Fran Dehn, President/CEO of the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve taken steps to make it easier than ever for festivalgoers and vendors to support our effort to conserve resources by recycling and composting.” Festival organizers are also encouraging the use of public transit and bicycles to cut down carbon emissions and vehicular traffic. Festivalgoers will be treated to cool, interactive presentations by festival sponsors Burt’s Bees and Gillette Fusion. At the award-winning Burt’s Bees Bee-utify Your World “hive”, attendees can get free hand massages, try Burt’s Bees vast range of natural, earth friendly products and take home free samples to start a more natural, healthy lifestyle. Learn about natural personal care products and other choices we can make in our daily lives that are better for us and the environment. The Gillette Fusion Power Phenom Tour features live shaving by professional barbers, self-shave kiosks where you can give yourself a shave, green screen photo opportunities, and great prizes and giveaways.
FINE ART, ONE-OF-A-KIND CRAFTS
Pacific Fine Arts, the festival’s new art coordinator, brings its highly-respected stable of America’s top artists and craftmakers to the festival, widely considered to be one of California’s top art fairs. Festivalgoers will find thousands of handcrafted items in well-stocked booths covering several city blocks. Chat with and buy from 250 artists on hand with their latest creations. Featuring original work in sculpture, paintings, photography, glass, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, leather, wood, metal and mixed media, the festival is considered among the top art shows in the Bay Area. Vases, flatware, clocks, dishes, wall and table decorations, paperweights, stained and beveled glass, etchings, sculptures, photography, oil and watercolor paintings, beadwork, gold and silver jewelry, vests, handbags, hats, wallets, footwear, windchimes, and waterfalls are among the one-of-a-kind items available.
ENTERTAINMENT
Ten popular bands will play an eclectic, fun-filled mix of jazz, rock & roll, r&b, pop, disco and soul music on stage and street as the best of the Bay Area music scene comes to Menlo Park. The free “After-Hours Concert” will feature Double Funk Crunch, one of the Bay Area's top party bands known for their fun, danceable 70's and 80's pop music on Saturday, July 19th from 5:30-8 p.m. in Fremont Park. Also performing are The Groove Kings, The Megatones, The Garage Band, California Beach Boys, The CoverGrrlz, The Woogie Men, HeartStrings Music, Aryeh Frankfurter, and Dreamroad.
Festival eateries will be serving up a world of flavorful fare, perfect for strolling –– Philly cheese steaks, falafel sandwiches, gyros, chicken and sausage jambalaya, seafood gumbo, spicy crawfish étoufée, blackened shrimp, crispy fried calamari with cilantro-lime sauce, barbecued oysters, crab cakes, tri-tip and portobello mushroom sandwiches, garlic fries, stuffed mushrooms, Hawaiian shredded pork sandwiches, teriyaki beef and chicken over rice, smoked bratwurst and Polish dogs, Salvadoran pupusas, fish tacos, fish and chips, Caesar salad, garlic chicken and pork kabobs, chicken wraps, kettle corn, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Complementing the food will be a selection of exceptional wines, refreshing margaritas, and microbrewed beers.
DRAEGER’S WORLD-CLASS COOKING DEMOS
Resident Chef Instructors from renowned epicurean purveyor Draeger's will conduct cooking demonstrations from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day at their Menlo Park store, located at 1010 University Avenue, in the second floor Cooking School. Subjects will include how to make an Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Basil Oil and Thai Brown Rice Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette. The demos will be 30-minutes in length starting at the top of each hour with free samples to nibble on at the conclusion. There is no charge to attend and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
ORGANIC ALLEY
New to the festival this year is “Organic Alley”, a tented area featuring four esteemed Bay Area food companies –– Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, Virginia’s Live a Little, Planet Organics and June Taylor Jams –– all offering samples of their incredible edibles. Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo will sample skewers of organic tomatoes and basil marinated in Bold Balsamic Dressing by Virginia’s Live a Little. Their colorful booth will display some of the many varieties of tomatoes grown by Del Cabo in Baja California and the herbs raised by Jacobs Farm on the San Mateo coast, as well as a collection of the dressings and other salad accompaniments created by Oakland-based Virginia’s Live a Little. They will also hand out recipes for using tomatoes and herbs. Planet Organics, the home-delivery service based in Sonoma, will have samples of apples, strawberries, and delectable spreadables from June Taylor Jams. Like a miniature farmers’ market, their booth will exhibit how their delivery boxes are packed with seasonal produce such as peaches, nectarines, sweet white corn, potatoes, green beans and heirloom lettuces. It will also showcase an array of artisanal conserves, marmalades, fruit butters and syrups from June Taylor Farms.
KIDS’ FUN ZONE
The action-packed Tavarez Orthodontics Kids’ Fun Zone will fascinate kids with endless amusements. The stomach-tickling Froghopper, a 24-foot climbing wall, colorful wax hands art, whimsical sand sculptures, thrilling virtual reality motion theater, temporary tattoos, face painting, balloon artists, clowns, inflatible bounces, and choo-choo train rides are among the exciting attractions.
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT EXHIBITS
The Menlo Park Police and Fire Departments will be setting up Community Safety exhibits at the festival. The Police Department tent will offer children free DNA kits and computer fingerprinting. The DNA kits consist of compartments for samples of hair, blood and saliva. Parents also will be able to take home computerized photographs and fingerprints of their children. The Menlo Park Fire Department will set up its Emergency Preparedness Trailer to educate the public about many types of emergencies. The history of earthquakes will be shown on a large video monitor and the trailer will shake just like the real thing. Participants will learn why earthquakes occur and what to do if the ground is quaking. Fire Department personnel will also demonstrate fire and injury-related safety tips. Topics will range from cooking safety and microwave dangers to fire extinguisher use and teaching children how to call 911. Both exhibits will be on Chestnut Street.
SPECTACULAR SPONSORS
Stop by for a visit, win great prizes, enjoy tasty samples, meet the personalities, and check out the latest products from this year’s festival sponsors: Tavarez Orthodontics, Burt's Bees, Gillette Fusion, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Wells Fargo, Renewal By Andersen, Kitchen Works, Solar City, Menlo Medical Clinic, Provident Credit Union, University Chiropractic, Cobalt Power Systems, Planet Organics, Jacobs Farm, Clear View Screens, Laser Eye Center, Armstrong Painting and Roofing, Shell Vacations Club, NY Times, Lifemark Group, Maita Distributing –– Sam Adams Summer Ale, Boston Lager, Foster's, Miller Lite, Cutco Cutlery, California State Automobile Association, El Dorado Ranch, Danmer Custom Shutters, Marriott Vacations, Timber Lodge, Genesis Stoneworks, AT&T Yellow Pages, Wyndham Resorts, Margarita King, American Laser Centers, The City of Menlo Park, Les R. Koonce, Beltramo's, Menlo Chevron, The David D. Bohannon Organization, Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water, The San Jose Mercury News, CBS 5 TV, The CW, Channel 44, Comcast, Alice 97.3 FM, KBAY 94.5 FM, KEZR 106.5 FM, KFOX 98.5 FM, Channel 104.9 FM, Movin' 99.7 FM, KCBS 740 AM, The Almanac, Palo Alto Weekly, Gentry Magazine, Wave Magazine.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Caltrain and SamTrans will be running their normal weekend service both days. The Menlo Park Caltrain/SamTrans station lets riders off one block from the festival grounds. For Caltrain and SamTrans schedule information, call 800-660-4287 or visit or www.samtrans.com. For VTA information, call 800-894-9908 or visit www.vta.org.www.caltrain.com
STREET CLOSURES/VEHICLE PARKING/BICYCLE PARKING
Santa Cruz Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic from El Camino Real to Johnson Street for the two-day festival. Parking will be available in the parking plazas adjacent to Santa Cruz Avenue, on side streets surrounding the festival area, and at the Caltrain station on Merrill Street. Bicycle parking racks are available at several locations on Santa Cruz Avenue.
NO PETS, PLEASE
Pets are not allowed at the festival. For the safety, comfort, and courtesy of your pets and festival-goers, please leave your pets at home.
FESTIVAL DATES/HOURS/LOCATION/ INFO-LINE/WEB
The festival runs July 19-20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Santa Cruz Avenue from El Camino Real to Johnson Street in Menlo Park. Admission is free. For festival information, call the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce at 650-325-2818.
