A lot is going on down at the Farm this month!
Normally, as the Peanuts Celebration concludes, there’s always the transition toward the sweet and juicy festival we’ve come to know and love. But in addition to that, the neighboring hotel is also getting its final touches on a multi-million dollar upgrade.
The entire hotel has been redone, from the lobby to the bathroom mirrors. There’s a new Thirty Acres restaurant, a new Starbucks cafe in the lobby, and a beautiful outdoor venue where live music will be hosted.
One of the most endearing parts of Knott’s is their love of the actual farm and rustic motif. And the kitschy posters of the different crops mounted all around. Only Knott’s could get away with having their beets and corn on a poster and be considered perfect. 
So, given the timing, it was only appropriate that our preview of the Boysenberry Festival took place in the Grand Ballroom at the hotel, and we got to see a selection of the items that would be available in the new restaurant.
The dining options available at the Thirty Acres Kitchen, named for the size of the original plot of land, are exactly what you’d hope for.
The original hotel wasn’t disappointing by any means. We stayed back in 2021 and found it great, if not slightly dated – but we can barely recognize the place after all the changes.
I imagine the lines at this cafe will be pretty monstrous once word gets out that it’s an alternative to the typically long lines elsewhere. 
The gift shop has been entirely redone into a beautiful store on its own and even has Knott’s Hotel branded merchandise, available exclusively at this location.
The aforementioned outside venue will also be able to host weddings. We’re excited to see how it gets used this summer.
All the decor has hints to the history of the farm. In this case, each leaf of this sculpture is made from the old chicken dinner restaurant menu. 
The rooms are all refreshed, too. It sounds minor, and like I’m a crazy old man, but I appreciate that they all have bedside alarm clocks, something that’s becoming harder to find as many places assume we want to rely on our phones. 
The rooms have received updated decorations, too. 
At the end of each hallway, they have large photographs, different on every floor, showing off more of the park’s history. In this case, it’s Corkscrew, the precursor to Boomerang, which also is now a distant memory.
But that’s just the hotel’s share. We have the actual Boysenberry Festival to get to! And here’s a selection of the choices on hand this year.
And it wouldn’t be a festival without new merchandise to accompany it. This time around we have some beautiful tote bags, and tie-dyed shirts. 
Lots of throw blankets, too in more than one design.
The latest flavor/scent for the Boysenberry toiletries line is here and it’s cream-flavored.
There’s a new license plate here,which would look great in any garage. 
Karl Busche, the merchandise manager at Knott’s, and all-around awesome guy, introduced us to Betty Berry, who unbeknownst to us, was featured regularly in old Knott’s advertisements. Here she is in the flesh for the first time. The ability for Karl to resurrect old icons like this is impressive.
Here’s the softer goods, including the knitted hats and boysenberry slippers. 
For those who collect them, here’s the 2024 Boysenberry Festival pin. 
The slippers are just perfect. Each one is a slice of pie.
Pantry-wise, we have some new options, like the different flavored syrups. 
And something I’m excited about is the boysenberry cookie shots. I appreciate that it has instructions on the back label.
The Boysenberry Festival runs daily, starting this Friday, March 8th at Knott’s through April 7th, and then Fri-Sun until April 28th. It’s included with admission. Tickets and tasting cards are available at Knotts.com.
Once the event starts, we’ll have more details about the rest of the activities and entertainment in a future article. See you at the Farm!
