Well, spring is in the air, and that means the boysenberries are in bloom at Knott’s! We recently covered their preview of the seasonal event, so this article will cover more of the entertainment side of the event.
Tied Up In Knott’s is their seasonal art gallery, showing off local artists and their tribute pieces to all facets of the park’s history.The original pieces are often claimed quite quickly, but the prints are readily available. If they’re sold out, the artists usually restock when they can find the time before the end of the event. They’ve done this for a number of years now and it’s impressive at all the beautiful work that keeps appearing. It’s not hard to find a favorite memory in the park represented somewhere. The handiwork and love is clear. These art galleries play to Knott’s strengths by showcasing the breadth of memories they’ve created over the years. It means something different to everyone. Over in the barn, some new buddies have shown up…but they’re a little sheepish.
Over at the Birdcage, the melodrama is back!
While the melodrama is a few years old, it received a hefty rewrite this year, making it easier to follow and turning all the characters into far more sillier versions of themselves. That means even if you’ve seen it before, give it a new shot. There’s a lot more ‘oomph’ in it, literally. Outside, there are games being played during the early part of the day – everything from trivia to relay races.
But that’s just a warm-up for the big event, which is the pie-eating contest. It gets pretty messy and those ponchos definitely come in handy. No joke, photos of the winners have been so messy that some social media image scanners flagged them as disturbing. That’s an endorsement if there ever was one.
Oven in Town Hall, they’re playing their documentary on the history of the boysenberry which is a great way to relax, take in the A/C, and find some calm in the day from the bustling outside.
We already covered a lot of the merchandise being offered, but the eponymous plant is also available, if you are feeling adventurous. They sell out pretty quickly, so don’t dawdle on picking one up.
There are also handcrafted booths all around Ghost Town. There’s a lot of variety and many of these folks come back year after year. We have a personal affinity for the boysenberry hot tea and the tutus made to order. It’s not hard to find something you’ll fall in love with. To punctuate your day, the nighttime show – which is debuting for its 100th anniversary – returns and it’s still as awesome as ever. It covers the history of the family founders of the park through a lot of song, dance, and costume changes.
Some of the food offerings include the blackened salmon bowl, and the french toast burger, both of which are available on the dining plan at the newly re-opened Coaster’s Diner. The FrenchToast was not bad at all. Despite assumptions about it being a breakfast item, it’s available all day. Cheers to them for taking these wacky risks.
There’s also a mini funnel cake available, which we adore because it makes it far easier to leave room for other options.
Inside the barn, there are other options like the shrimp stir fry with a boysenberry teriyaki sauce.
Just keep your eyes peeled for these menus to let you know what’s on tap at each location. Finally, the dress shop is continuing to get work done while the lounge is being improved. The seamstress appears when school tours come by, but not during most regular hours, sadly. Guests still constantly come in and it’d be nice to see it populated as it used to be.
The Boysenberry Festival runs select dates through April 28th. Tasting cards and admission tickets are available at Knotts.com.
And now, just enjoy some other pictures from around the park.
Ketchup? Catsup?