Volunteers Linda White (DO), Nicolle Rager (COM) and Jasmine Rogers (BSD) (Photo by Nina Adelman Stolar)

Nine SLAC volunteers staffed a soda booth at the 17th annual Connoisseurs’ Marketplace: A Premier Festival of Food, Art and Music on Saturday, July 19. It was sponsored by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce.

The difference in staff participation this year was an organized SLAC presence. "This was an opportunity for people from SLAC to wear SLAC t-shirts, present a SLAC banner and show that the Laboratory is supportive of the Menlo Park community," explained SLAC Community Relations Coordinator Emily Ball. Over and above her own 3-hour stint in the soda booth, Ball spent the day at the fair. She extends her thanks to the volunteers: Barbara Hoddy (COM), Michael Laznovsky (ESD), Barbara Mason (HR), Nicolle Rager (COM), Jasmine Rogers (PUR), Mika Stratton (EC), Nina Stolar (COM) and Linda White (DO).

A festive array of tents displayed a wide variety of high quality arts and crafts: jewelry, ceramics, paintings, photography, clothing, leather goods, lamps, stained glass and even waterfalls, as well as a wide selection of specialty foods. For the first time, thrill rides and games were added this year. The Kidzone included a 24-foot Climbing Wall, Bouncy the Clown creating animals out of balloons, face painting, a trackless train and much more. Music filled the air in the Gentry Magazine Chef’s Pavilion, where top local chefs demonstrated how to cook their favorites.