Can you feel that spring is here? The air is warming up, flowers are blooming, and the boysenberries have taken over Knott’s Berry Farm. It’s now time for the most delicious season at Knott’s: the Boysenberry Festival!
For a park that was founded on food, it only makes sense that they host an annual food and wine festival – this one with an obvious tilt toward their namesake berry. We recently covered some of the dining and merchandise options in our tasting preview earlier this month, but there’s a lot more to cover, so let’s get to it.
In terms of food, we tried the spaghetti in a boysenberry garlic bowl and mashed potatoes with boysenberry meatballs. The boysenberry garlic pairing is not something I would’ve come up with on my own, but overall, I enjoyed it. It’s a great choice for picky eaters. The boysenberry meatballs, though, are a straight-up classic. We followed that up with the Boysenberry Brick – a brioche square covered with boysenberry jam and boysenberry soft-serve ice cream. It was absolutely delicious, and honestly, with so many options on the tasting card, we’re considering getting it again.
While all that is digesting, you can visit Tied Up in Knott’s, their annual art show featuring local artists paying tribute to their favorite facets of the park. We ended up picking a small print of Kingdom of the Dinosaurs. The originals are mostly for sale, but you have to act quickly, as they’re often in high demand and sell out within the first few days of the event.
This year saw some 3D-printed figures of the Ghost Town Alive character Milton C. Howell, alongside some My Berry Pony figurines and a crafty coyote that finally got into the pie. Coming in here to see what inspires the artists each year is my favorite part of the event. Over the hundred-plus years of this park’s history, they’ve covered a lot of ground, so it’s nice to be reminded of it all.
The biggest news coming out of the event this year was the complete refurbishment of the Bird Cage Theatre. Home to a variety of acts over the last 72 years, the team at Knott’s has spent the past few months giving the theater some much-needed love. We were invited to a special presentation of this year’s melodrama, The Great Bank Robbery, along with a talk-back with the team involved.
Above all else, the three main issues tackled in this refurbishment were temperature, sound, and lighting. The lighting package was completely overhauled, including replacing all fixtures with LED lights to help keep the heat down. Multiple times during the summer, shows have been cut short or canceled due to high temperatures inside, so keeping both the audience and performers comfortable was a top priority. The sound has also been improved, allowing performers to speak more naturally instead of constantly projecting to reach the entire audience.
There’s definitely a different look inside as well. The circus tent ceiling has been replaced with familiar purple billowing drapes. But what’s more interesting is the wallpaper. While the team was tearing down the old leaning back wall, they discovered intricate wallpaper that had been covered up decades ago. The decision was made to refresh the back walls with new wallpaper that matched the original pattern. Altogether, it creates a much more inviting and comfortable experience, and I’m impressed that the entire project was completed in such a short timeframe.
The melodrama, of course, is the main draw right now. While it’s the same show as last year, the flow has been improved, and it makes great use of the new spotlights to highlight key moments during the performance. The actors feel like cartoons brought to life, and the intimate nature of the theater makes every showing a great experience. Even if you’ve seen the show before, you owe it to yourself to watch it in the newly refreshed space. Try to get in line at least 30 minutes early, as showings fill up quickly.
During the talk-back following the show, show director Jeff Tucker explained that his goal is to keep all productions grounded within the world of Knott’s Berry Farm – allowing for plenty of in-jokes and references rather than setting them in unrelated locations. Thankfully, the park has a wide variety of lands to draw from, so hopefully down the line we’ll see something like A Christmas Carol set on the Boardwalk of the 1920s – or maybe even a Fiesta Village melodrama.
Between showings, you can wander around Ghost Town and browse vendor booths selling handmade crafts. While there was a slight reduction in booths this year, all of our favorites returned. Leafy Love’s tea booth and the Flores Honey booth still occupy their usual spots right in front of the schoolhouse. Just around the corner is Old MacDonald’s Farm, featuring a sheep and her baby lambs, alongside Brutus the donkey and some of the farm’s horses.
To keep the kids entertained, there are games over in Calico Square. Outside of the 3:15 p.m. kids’ pie-eating contest, the others are just for fun. But let’s be honest – how many of you would gladly play Plinko with a giant squishy boysenberry?
If you feel too old to compete in the kids’ pie-eating contest, the adult version is right nearby every day, where contestants must clear a pie tin without using their hands. The results are always messy – but fun for everyone.
After they clean that all up, the big afternoon musical number is queued up. Knott’s Preserved is the show created for the park’s 100th anniversary, celebrating its founders, their legacy, and how the park came to be. It’s a perfectly choreographed production with multiple costume changes, and it’s absolutely worth sticking around to watch.
One of the things I love most about the Boysenberry Festival is how much more alive the park feels with music. You can hear it in every land. Live entertainment is the lifeblood of a theme park, and I’ll take every moment I can to celebrate it.
As an aside, America’s 250th birthday is coming up – and I’m not even going to attempt to spell that title right now. Given the park’s Americana theme, it’s no surprise that related merchandise is already starting to appear in stores. Expect to see more of that in the months ahead.
The Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival runs daily through April 12. Tickets, tasting cards, and scheduling information are available at Knotts.com.
