Knott's Boysenberry Festival 2023

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

It may seem like we’re stuck in forever-winter with all the rain (and snow in the mountains) we’ve been getting on and off for the past few months, but believe it or not, spring is technically around the corner! And the month of March traditionally brings about a local favorite, the Boysenberry Festival at Knott’s Berry Farm! Along with Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival, the Boysenberry Festival is a perennial springtime celebration of gourmet food and drink. While the DCA event looks across the California culinary scene for inspiration, Knott’s version is dedicated to the berry that put it on the map, with dozens of sweet, savory, and thirst-quenching dishes that feature the beloved boysenberry as an ingredient in one way or another!

This year’s Boysenberry Festival once again brings fantastic food, charming merchandise, creative artwork, exciting shows and activities, and an abundance of boysenberry theming to the park. We visited this past Sunday, and we’ve got a huge spread of photos and a robust report on our experience. So lets get right to it!

The Ambiance

As guests have come to expect over the near-decade that the Boysenberry Festival has been featured at Knott’s, the park has been taken over by the fruit that started it all for Walter Knott and a host of different shades of purple! Oversized boysenberries line throughout the park entrance and Ghost Town, and an assortment of springtime floral arrangements and farm style decorations can be found through much of the park. These displays are colorful and photogenic, and they’re another example of the tremendous work that Knott’s set decoration and carpentry and painting crews perform throughout the year for the park’s seasonal events.

This year, the backstage area behind Ghostrider that is normally only open during Knott’s Scary Farm is once again accessible to the public as “Boysenberry Lane.” There are several game and souvenir stands here, plus one tasting booth. There’s also a photo op of the Lucky Boysenberry Mine set up, and a friendly street character or two from time to time. Last year, a boysenberry pie plush was a big hit and ran out of stock as the event progressed. This year, we noticed a boysenberry plush as well as various farm animal plushes with some holding boysenberries. These might prove to be popular as well!

Guests who want to purchase their own boysenberry plant can also do so from back here. The price is $29.99 this year, a reflection of the inflationary pressures of the past couple of years. But if you’ve got a green thumb, this can certainly be a great investment down the line for those who love to have their own boysenberries at home!

Even elsewhere in the park, like in Camp Snoopy, there’s a springtime mood in the are. Camp Snoopy is all set up for Easter, with oversized eggs and bunnies in whimsical and colorful hues. The boysenberry isn’t overtly featured here, but the scenic displays do scream spring in their own cartoonish manner.

Crafts Fair

The Boysenberry Festival also brings the Crafts Fair to Ghost Town. This series of vendor booths set up throughout Calico allows local small business merchants to sell their wares to Knott’s guests directly. For the Boysenberry Festival, they’ve stepped up their game this year with a variety of themed apparel, plush toys, household decor, art pieces, trinkets, miscellaneous knick-knacks, and more. From boysenberry pie knit beanies to dresses and ribbons to miniature skeletons with little boysenberry t-shirts (a nice mash-up of Boysenberry Festival and Scary Farm), there are a variety of unique collectibles hand-made by local artisans.

The Crafts Fair features over 30 local vendors spread out across the entirety of Ghost Town proper, and it’s certainly an eclectic and fun stroll to explore!

Boysenberry Festival Merchandise

While the Crafts Fair offers guests a chance to purchase home-made boysenberry-themed items from independent sellers, the park of course offers plenty of official Knott’s Boysenberry Festival merchandise and mementos. We covered some of the new offerings during our Tasting Preview a couple weeks ago, but we also noticed the official festival T-shirt for this year at a stand just inside of the entrance to Ghost Town. The print on the back was absolutely adorable, as was the boysenberry print Snoopy stuffed animals.

Inside stores, there are also plush Snoopy dolls clutching boysenberries that are also bound to be in high demand by children. Stores throughout the park sell these and other T-shirts and magnets and keychains and other collectibles.

One other notable item we found irresistible was a Woodstock bathtub toy. It’s basically a rubber ducky, except it’s Snoopy’s best friend standing on a boysenberry pie, and it floats! Guests can purchase one at the game stand midway through Camp Snoopy. It’s $19.99 but super cute.

Tied Up in Knott’s Art Show

The Knott’s seasonal events have also become associated with individual art exhibits related to their event themes, and the Boysenberry Festival’s Tied Up in Knott’s is certainly a prominent attraction at the event. A plethora of artwork is on display over at the Factory Store next to Bear-y Tales, over on Memory Lane, and they celebrate the boysenberry or a facet of Knott’s history or characters who have become beloved at Knott’s over the years.

Over the years, we’ve seen mostly two-dimensional art like watercolors, acrylic paint on canvas, or even digital illustrations be featured. But this year, there seems to be an especially high prominence of 3D media, and they’re all very impressive! Unlike for the 2D creations, guests cannot purchase prints or smaller-sized versions of these items. Only the originals are for sale, but they celebrate a fantastic variety of themes from Knott’s lore both current and past. Whether it be a diorama of Sad Eye Joe and his jail or the beautiful rainbow caverns inside the Calico Mine ride or even a wonderfully colorful and (at this point) semi-obscure blast from the past scene from the old Soap Box Derby Racers, these creations showcase the incredible and impressive artistry of Knott’s fans—some of whom are guests, others who work at Knott’s in some capacity, and even a few who are professional artists!

The Tied Up in Knott’s art exhibit has become so anticipated that practically all original artworks are sold before the end of the first weekend. But fortunately, as mentioned before, many of the traditional media items have prints that guests can purchase.

Food

Of course, the main attraction of the festival is all the food that guests can enjoy! Much of the details of the gourmet offerings can be found in our Tasting Preview event. Guests can purchase a Tasting Card to sample 6 items per card at a cost of $55 per card. These can be used at 11 booths across Ghost Town, which includes locations by Silver Bullet and Calico River Rapids in addition to the traditional territory of the land. Guests can also purchase items ala carte. They range from $10 to $18 each depending on the item, so the $55 is an excellent value!

Our Sunday trip cemented the Beef Tips as a top winner. I loved the chicken wings again, but it wasn’t quite as in demand among the rest of our group. We did sample both the Buffalo Chicken and Beef Barbacoa Mac N Cheese dishes. The chicken was dry on Sunday, in contrast to our Tasting Preview evening, but the barbacoa was utterly splendid, with a nice spice and very tender meet over the delicious and flavorful Mac N Cheese. The Boysenberry Jambalaya was also a solid offering, similar to previous years, with a bit of spice and a very filling portion.

We also sampled the Boysenberry Bread Pudding—which was gobbled down almost immediately—and the Loaded Baked Potato Bowl with Boysenberry Cheese Sauce, Bacon, and Chives—which I liked but others found a little too sweet on the cheese. Neither of those was available at the tasting event. One unique item that we noticed was the Sushi Burrito, and while we didn’t order it, based on observation, it was a relatively small sized sushi-wrapped spicy California Roll with a boysenberry dipping sauce—innocuous enough for the average palate but not really sushi, and also not that large of a portion compared to other items.

On the beverage end, the Boysenberry Mudslide was once again divine and very diabetic. The Boysenberry Smoothie was different than past years in that it was thicker and more smoothie-like (can’t fault that) vs its previous more-slushie like consistency. It also seemed much sweeter this year. While tasty, we liked the previous years’ version.

Full information on the Tasting Card items as well as ala carte items available for purchase at permanent dining locations can be found here. Definitely check it out before your visit, as there is not physical listing of available foods. The $55 tasting card does have a QR code that guests can use to access the menu online, though.

It’s also worth noting that over at the Wilderness Dance Hall, there is a Beer & Wine Tasting Set that guests can purchase with a flight of various boysenberry potables of the alcoholic variety. This is separate from the Boysenberry Festival Tasting Card.

And just next door, guests can decorate cookies with their own kits at Cordelia’s Pie Kitchen. It’s a fun family-friendly activity.

Old MacDonald’s Farm

The Livery Stable is open throughout the year but included an attraction for the event. A couple of months ago, we saw Pigpen and some piglets in addition to the donkey and horse who are regularly seen there. This time around, there were baby donkeys, some goats, and horses.

History of the Boysenberry

In Town Hall, the History of the Boysenberry documentary is back. Surprisingly, the interior of the building is relatively sparse. There is no seating, and aside from a berry vine display at the wall in front of the television screen, there are no other graphics, displays, or information mounted to the walls to explain the boysenberry in further detail.

Boysenberry Fun & Games

At the Calico Mine Stage, guests can participate in various games several times throughout the late morning into mid-afternoon. When we stopped by, guests had to run across the stage to their partners on the other side wearing oversized purple onesies and fill them with purple balloons one by one. As the task continued, their partners “expanded” and started to look like oversized boysenberries! The team who filled the most balloons won.

The culmination of the games occurs at 4:00pm, when the boysenberry pie eating contest occurs—a messy affair for sure!

Officially, Knott’s only lists three shows as part of the Boysenberry Festival live entertainment line-up, though this doesn’t include Music Goes Round and Around at the Camp Snoopy Theater, which continues its run from the Peanuts Festival in January and last month. This is noticeably fewer than in past Boysenberry Festivals or even past seasonal events, but the live billing that is on the Boysenberry Festival schedule includes some pretty significant attractions!

Riverboat Revenge

At the Bird Cage Theatre, the Riverboat Revenge melodrama returns for its second year after grand success last year! This intimate stage play tells the story of the heroic Dan Darby as he helps Captain Harmony try to win a perilous riverboat race against the dastardly Caldwell Cadwalader and his reluctant accomplice, the sultry vixen Sirena Sydney—all the while hoping to win the love of Captain Harmony’s daughter, Heather. In classic melodrama tradition, the show is over the top, campy, and raucously ridiculous—even more so than last year’s.

During our viewing on Sunday, Jeff DeGlow’s villainous Caldwell Cadwalader was absurdly conniving, with wild, gesticulating actions and boisterous, antagonistic laughter that made him a prime target to boo. Robby Devillez’s Dan Darby was wholesome, innocent, and brave—a fun reflection of a simple man seeing the beauty in a simple life. Drew Berg’s Captain Harmony was slapstick, goofy, and unwitting, but full of heart and determination. Jade Moujae’s Heather proved to be a classic damsel—a privileged daughter who finds herself drawn to Dan Darby but initially hesitant to share his dreams. Melissa Musial’s Sirena Sydney elicited “hubba hubba’s” with every hip shake and thigh strut and sassy exchange. She was a fantastic foil to Caldwell’s flamboyance. And pianist Phil Ward provided the delightful soundtrack to the five-act, half hour performance!

Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies

At the Wagon Camp, Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies continues to attract big crowds and a supportive audience. Since moving to Knott’s from Disneyland, this band’s flair for silly and exaggerated bluegrass and country and soul mix have delighted a legion of fans. Their popularity was no different than any other time we’ve seen theme perform, and their wide range of musical knowledge made their show unique. Even missing a drummer due to illness on Sunday, they were as entertaining as ever!

Knott’s Preserved: A Musical Celebration

So we mentioned that the quantity of live shows is noticeably less in this year’s Boysenberry Festival compared to normal. But after watching the brand new Knott’s Preserved show at the Calico Mine Stage, we might understand why. In short, this musical extravaganza is a non-stop, spectacular, intricately choreographed celebration of the real and storyline history of Knott’s Berry Farm, with a rousing soundtrack and score that stirs the emotions, a variety of thrilling dance and stunt routines, a plethora of dazzling costuming, and an overall quality that feels Broadway-esque and can honestly rival some of Disney’s best stage shows!

The musical feels like a production that might have been originally intended for Knott’s Berry Farm’s centennial celebration in 2020—if it hadn’t been ruined by COVID. Show’s theme song, “One Hundred Years of History,” seems to suggest this in very overt terms. Indeed, when the performance begins, a lone guitarist walks across the stage and is promptly joined by a cast of various characters synonymous with the park. A pair of cowboys representing the Old West’s tradition of law vs brigandry put up fisticuffs against each other. A pair of can-can girls recognizable from the Calico Saloon grace the stage with their colorful frills. Lumberjack approach the towering trees at the back of the stage, showcasing a connection with the Timber Mountain Log Ride. An early 1900s couple prepares for an evening out in the city, not unlike scenes shown in Knott’s Merry Farm’s stage spectaculars.

It isn’t long before the ensemble breaks into a spirit song and dance, joined by a grandmotherly figure who represents the pastimes and traditions that Knott’s has represented over the decades. Holding up a sizeable boysenberry pie, she melodically ties these different representations of Knott’s together as the performing company crescendos to the height of its opening number.

This introduction quickly shifts to the first period in history covered in Knott’s Preserved, the pioneering explorers braving the elements and the unknown to head out west and try to establish a new life and a new beginning for themselves. The homesteaders present the nostalgic view of the settlement of the Wild, Wild West, also laying the roots for the establishment of the town of Calico that forms the heart of Knott’s theme park mythology.

Next, we move forward several unknown decades further into the 1800s, when the railroad has helped link the west to the big cities back east, and westward movement has spread beyond the early rough and tumble settlers. Calico might still be a bit rugged, requiring the keen oversight of a strong-willed lawman, but that doesn’t stop throngs of city folk enthralled by the notion of that Western romance from setting their tracks to more open pastures.

We return to Calico / Ghost Town, where things are thriving as more and more people settle through. The town has grown to be inhabited by all sorts of folks, from the officials to the everyday citizens to saloon dancers. A lively square dance illustrates the growing success of this little town, with big steps and bold moves amplifying the excitement of life out in these parts.

It’s not all fun and revelry, though, as Calico still has its struggles between bandits and lawmen. An intricately choreographed routine that mixes part fight scene and part acrobatic dance paints the struggle. It’s tough work, but eventually, the law prevails, keeping order and helping continuing to propel little Calico forward.

From here, the show stays out west but shifts to the splendor of nature. Against a backdrop of the Painted Desert, a couple stages a beautiful partnered routine complete with high lifts, spinning twirls, lithe bends, and an almost ballet-like enchantment. The tone is almost a stark and sudden change, but the grace and elegance with which the two dancers move with each other is spellbinding, and this part of the performance seems to speak to the inherent magnificence of the great outdoors.

The charm of the dancing duet gives way to some fanciful frolicking of the lumberjack variety, as a drunken outdoorsman stumbles out in a spinning stupor before being joined by group of loggers who explode into a controlled cacophony of acrobatics and percussion. Hammers and pans referencing the Gold Rush are used in silly fashion. Loggers work on cutting through fallen tree trucks. Mill workers jump and flip around lumber and axes, spurred on by the furrowed work that they engage.

After all the ruckus is resolved, we move into the 1900s, where actors portraying Cordelia and Walter Knott spend a lovely day at the beach and dance their way through their young love. The Pike of Long Beach in its boardwalk heyday is the backdrop, and the fun and grandeur of the cool, California scene portray a more relaxed atmosphere. Despite the difference in chronological inspirations, this seems to sort of relate to the Boardwalk section of Knott’s Berry Farm, which has a similar beachside flair.

Finally, the entire performing group returns to connect the historical vignettes to the themes and stories that have shaped the development of Knott’s Berry Farm. From Walter’s roadside berry stand to Cordelia’s burgeoning chicken dinner service to the import of a Western ghost town, to the modern theme park today, Knott’s has seen its fair share of change and evolution. The “Hundred Years of History” repeated in reprise could refer to the past century of Knott’s as America’s first theme park, or it could even refer to the preceding century’s historical context romanticized throughout the musical as the foundation upon which Knott’s Berry Farm was built. But regardless, there’s an emotional resonance that reinforced as the show comes to a triumphant and thrilling finale, ending in streamers and a magnificent flourish to close out the show.

Knott’s Preserved marks yet another step in Knott’s continued march forward in sophistication with its live entertainment. There are no breaks in this show, and the music and vocals throughout the half hour performance carry the same sort of emotional journey that a Disney park stage show or nighttime spectacular would incorporate. Though the sets themselves are not particularly complex, the costume changes, choreography, and sheer scale of the performer positions and techniques are pretty extravagant, and the tremendous effort of the entire production crew and the performers is clearly on display.

Our only wish is that we could have seen the musical celebration continue through the park history after the growth of Ghost Town, to include the other portions of the park. But that’s really a reflection of how riveting and enveloping the show’s dreamy sentiment is able to be, hooking the audience into the positivity of the park and the country’s historical achievements. There’s certainly a “Disney-fication” of historical events here, but this is a theme park, and this sort of idealistic escapism is the point. Knott’s Preserved amplifies the park qualities that have been most memorable through the Berry Farm’s rich history. It’s a production that left us thoroughly impressed.

That wraps up another lengthy Boysenberry Festival review, but I think you can see why we enjoy this even so much. It’s just a whole lot of fun, and it has the heart of what has made Knott’s such a classic theme park over the decades. The gourmet attractions are fantastic for foodies, and the live entertainment is great for families looking for a break between rides or just a different type of theme park day. And you can’t beat the colorful, revitalizing springtime ambiance at the park!

Knott’s Boysenberry Festival runs daily through Sunday, April 16th, though the live entertainment is scheduled for Fridays through Sundays. The Festival is a part of regular park admission. If you’ve never gone before, you’re in for a treat, and if you have, then you know the merriment that’s returning. So as long as it’s not raining (we get it; this year, that’s a much bigger challenge than usual), take a trip over to Buena Park to enjoy this big boysenberry party!

UPDATE: The Boysenberry Festival has been extended three additional weekends through Sunday, May 7th! It runs daily through April 16th still, then Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only the following three weekends.