What caught our eye at the Connoisseurs’ Marketplace in downtown Menlo Park

The 28th annual Connoisseur’s Marketplace is taking place this weekend in downtown Menlo Park along Santa Cruz Avenue, and we wandered down this morning to take a look. Like similar summer street festivals there’s something for everyone — food, shopping, beer/wine and entertainment.

The fun t-shirts from YeahYeah!PonyPrince, which sells original hand-painted linoleum block printed designs on a line of organic clothing and accessories, caught our eye. We visited with founders Jodi Mullen and Oscar Bevilacqua (pictured top). Jodi said they do about 50 festivals a year in addition to having a retail store in North Beach in the City. “I was an art major in college and this was a way to do art and making a living,” she said.

People ranging in age from tots to adults were enjoying the Spider Jump, and girls were lining up to be transformed into fairy princesses at Fairies and Feathers. We ran into Alessandra who was looking oh so pretty in pink. She was gracious enough to pose at Fremont Park with her mother Carole.

A food newcomer to the Marketplace this year is Ñora Cocina Espanalo. Chefs were on the street preparing massive pots of paella —  Spanish bomba rice and saffron mixed with shrimp, chicken and chorizo (pictured below).

Today’s events conclude with an after hours concert in Fremont Park from 5:30 to 8:00 pm featuring Steely Dan/Chicago tribute band, Aja Vu. Hours on Sunday are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.