Knott's Taste of Merry Farm 2020: Characters, Entertainment, and 'Tis the Seasons Art Gallery
Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA
We’re back with the conclusion of our Knott’s Taste of Merry Farm updates after the holiday weekend. Yeah, the union gave us Thanksgiving break off. So cool, right? We didn’t even know we had a union. ANYWAY, after our general review and park ambiance deep dives last week, we’re rounding things out with the interactive and show segments that have been incorporated into the Taste of Merry Farm, plus a bit of seasonal magic and also a look at the latest Knott’s art show. So pull out that turkey sandwich, lets get this post-feasting update on the road!
Characters
The “Taste of…” series has had some form of interactive street callers since the very beginning, from the rooftop criers in Ghost Town conversing with passers by. The Taste of Fall-O-Ween augmented this with some additional ambiance characters who stood from socially-distanced perches to interact with guests similar to the vein of Ghost Town Alive!, though without the back-and-forth task-carrying. The Taste of Merry Farm continues this trend, with a wide variety of character interactions throughout the park.
A Calico Christmas Carol
Ghost Town takes on a Charles Dickens tone this year, with the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Ghost of Christmas Past, a fleeting Ghost of Christmas Future, and Ebenezer Scrooge himself taking stage on the second story balconies of Calico throughout the day. The Ghosts have a mission for the day—try to make Ebenezer smile before the Calico Christmas tree is lit at dusk. They’ve tasked guests to try to accomplish this, though during the meantime, they also converse and ask about people’s days and their experiences. We didn’t get to meet all of the characters, but they may be familiar faces for fans of Knott’s Ghost Town Alive! series…!
Peanuts Meet-and-Greets
On a more traditional avenue, the Taste of Merry Farm also features socially distanced meet-and-greets with Peanuts characters—something that was missing from previous “Taste of…” events. In Camp Snoopy, the characters stand on the stage at the Camp Snoopy theater, while guests stand in the audience area, in front, at least six feet away. Similarly, there’s an absolutely adorable and highly popular Santa Snoopy interaction area that puts everyone’s favorite beagle behind some crates that separate him from guests. Over on the Boardwalk, the newly refurbished Charles Schulz Theater is being used for more photo ops at the top of the entry ramps. All of these encounters are outside, and there are natural but non-intrusive barriers that allow for a slightly detached but still meaningful experience. It’s really nice to see these little ways that Knott’s has used to keep their actors safe while still providing a guest experience that fits within the parameters of health safety recommednations.
Douglas Fir: Christmas Tree Salesman
The Boardwalk also features an intentionally slapstick and comedic version of Knott’s passer-by callers in the form of Douglas Fir, a Christmas tree salesman who is trying to get rid of his very last tree—a decidedly droopy and sad-looking Charlie Brown Christmas tree that’s retailing for the incredible deal of $700. It’s such a value that it very well might be a steal—though the person doing the stealing might be subject to debate.
Douglas is an absolute riot with sarcastic and often-improvised one-liners responding to guest reactions (or sometimes lack of reactions), and he has an array of sarcastic quips that sometimes break fourth wall and broadcast ironic self-awareness. All the while, his smooth-talking and flawless punchline delivery for the comedically awful tree promotion might have some thinking this was some Clay Mayfield-level tomfoolery going on. And those people wouldn’t be wrong. Douglas Fir was quite possibly our favorite bit of unscheduled entertainment at the park, and we definitely wouldn’t mind seeing this sort of casual performance more regularly!
Entertainment
The Taste of Merry Farm still isn’t having traditional stage shows in order to mitigate potential crowds, though a couple of offerings blur the line between what constitutes a formal show. But the park continues to offer a series of unscheduled entertainment to keep guests entertained beyond just enjoying their food. From the Calico Mine Stage to the balcony above the Calico Saloon to the streets of Ghost Town and the Boardwalk area, the Taste of Merry Farm is certainly doing its part to spread some holiday joy in various ways!
Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies
We’ve seen this the past couple of “Taste of…” events. Sporadically throughout the day and evening, Knott’s is playing a video concert of Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies on the big screen at the Calico Mine Stage. Since having recurring live musical performances would be an increased risk, this pre-filmed concert acts as a professionally shot substitute. The latest version is a Christmas-themed affair, with band stringing up some of their favorite carols and holiday tunes. It’s a nice amount of background entertainment for guests dining in the picnic area in front of the stage, and it brings some fun Christmas song revelry as well!
Also sharing screen time is a “best of” clip show of the Snoopy on Ice show from past years. Since this beloved Knott’s Merry Farm favorite cannot take place live this year, the park has put together a video of highlights. We weren’t able to get photos of it during our visit, but it did look like a nice and heart-warming presentation. It’s not a substitute for the real thing, of course, but it brings at least a semblance of Merry Farm tradition to this food festival event.
The Birdcage Theatre Players
The Calico Mine Stage is actually home to a variety of unscheduled shows, in addition to the aforementioned video productions. There is also a meldodramatic and pun-filled retelling of A Christmas Carol by the Birdcage Theatre Players, featuring a cardboard cut-out of Scrooge himself, and a relentless script that throws jokes and back-and-forth dialogue salvos at seemingly 100 mph. The actors are terrific in their storytelling, visual gags, and mock dismay at some of the many groan-worthy puns employed throughout the show, which mixes in a lot of silliness and random humor into its narration of Scrooge’s story.
The Magic of Hayden Allcorn
Hayden Allcorn has been performing feats of illusions and prestidigitation at Knott’s for a while now, usually at the Calico Park Stage. But at the Taste of Merry Farm, he’s moved to the big arena of the very busy Calico Mine Stage, offering a Christmas-themed version of his energetic and occasionally self-deprecating magic show. There’s a bit of audience participation and some wackiness built in, but it’s an entertaining and enjoyable series of mind-bending illusions—including a psychic finale that will leave the audience stunned at how it was accomplished!
Calico Christmas Carolers
One Merry Farm tradition that survives intact is the Calic Christmas Carolers, who a capella and chime bell their beautifully soothing melodies from the upper porch of the Calico Saloon. Working through classic Christmas carols, they really bring the warmth and magic of the season to guests below, around Calico Park!
Glow and [No] Snow
At night, at approximately 15 minute intervals on the streets of Ghost Town, a truncated version of the Merry Farm “Glow and Snow” spectacle rings out through Calico. This version is much briefer than the regular show, and it does not feature any snowfall effects. Instead, the hanging lanterns and some of the overhead show lights glow and pulse with a washing of holiday energy. It’s an emotional, feel-good moment that conjures up the cherishing of the holidays, and it’s another example of Knott’s bringing some semblance of holiday normalcy for emotional assurance.
Fiesta Village
Fiesta Village once again features a deejay and ambient music. Nothing too crazy here, but given the fact that the dance floor is still a spaced out dining area, there’s no need to do anything elaborate anyway.
KNOT Radio
Another favorite feature is KNOT Radio, a 50’s style radio show with classic radio ads and promotions mixed in between classic Christmas songs. This is another “show” that requires close listening, because the fast-talking DJ’s absolutely indundate their lines with puns and zingers and absolute absurdity. It’s actually kind of incredible that they can read all of their script with a straight face. Think of when The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel took on voice acting as a side job, but crank that fast talking up even higher and mix in a whole bunch of silliness. That’s KNOT Radio, and it’s delightful.
Boothill Cemetery
Ghost Town’s resident graveyard (well, residence for the dead) featured some bonus show moments during the Taste of Fall-O-Ween, as the winds would howl and the veil would shift every few minutes, and the story of one of the graveyard’s buried denizens was told. For the Taste of Merry Farm, the same effects are employed to tell Ebenezer Scrooge’s meeting with the ghosts that haunt him. Is that a third Christmas Carol feature in this event? Yes. But it’s a neat little surprise for those not expecting it—though when we attended on opening weekend, only the ghost of Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Future showing Scrooge’s fate of dying along and unloved seemed to be in rotation. We’re not sure if that was the finished product or not, but the Taste of Fall-O-Ween did had more stories of the dead to its cycle after the first weekend, so that might happen here too.
Santa’s Christmas Cabin
Outside of things that would be classified as entertainment, the Taste of Merry Farm also returns some other traditional Knott’s Christmas time offerings. At the Wilderness Dance Hall, guests can have a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus at Santa’s Christmas Cabin. There’s a similar setup here as with the Peanuts photo ops—Santa is on the stage, elevated and standing back from the floor where the guests are positioned, affording social distance while still getting everyone in the frame. The interior of the Dance Hall is beautifully decorated, and Santa is also wearing a mask—a very socially responsible thing, given how many people he interacts with. Guests can purchase a photo package as a separate upcharge with this attraction.
‘Tis the Seasons Gallery & Gifts
Finally, to the side of the upcoming Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair attraction, where the old Voyage to the Iron Reef gift shop used to be located, Knott’s has set up the ‘Tis the Seasons Gallery & Gifts, the latest in Knott’s trend of showcasing Knott’s-centric art created by independent artists. Interestingly, many of this seasons’s Merry Farm art pieces have a distinctively Scary Farm feel, but that makes sense, given that many of the contributors are tied to the fall event in some way—be they a scareactor or designer or management or influencer. There are also familiar local artists returning with their odes to the Knott’s holidays. And of course, prints of most of the pieces can be purchased—in addition to the originals themselves (which are probably almost all sold out by now).
The shop also features a collection of holiday-themed park memorabilia, including some Christmas Catawampus merchandise that we really loved. It’s a great place to do some holiday shopping for the Knott’s lover in your life!
Knott’s Taste of Merry Farm continues the enrichment of the “Taste of…” events, adding even more content into the $40 park admission and tasting card price to balance out the increased fee. All of these offerings make the Taste of Merry Farm a solid all-day affair for guests who welcome it, and they further showcase the innovative ways that Knott’s is taking to provide seasonal theme park lite experiences for guests who are yearning for some sort of normalcy. All the while, there continues to be clear thought put into maintaining a safe of an environment as possible given the circumstances.
Nothing is ever perfect, but we think Knott’s has done a pretty solid job. It’s also reassuring to know that Knott’s is constantly monitoring operations, taking notes, and making adjustments, so that issues that arise one week are smoothed out (or at least attempted to) the following week. At this point, with the pandemic closing in on a year, it’s no longer simply an option to just keep everything closed until things get better. There needs to be a balance of maintaining business and well-being for hundreds of employees and keeping things as safe and healthy as possible. It’s an understandably complex, tricky, and difficult proposition to navigate, especially as we’re seeing Coronavirus numbers spike again and worse than ever during these holidays.
Ultimately, the choice to visit or stay at home should be one that each party makes for themselves. Each option is understandable. We hope we can just provide the information in these updates to help inform whichever decision you choose. Knott’s Taste of Merry Farm continues to run on select dates through Sunday, January 3rd—pending any future health department restrictions.
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
