It’s berry picking season! And that also means that it’s time for Knott’s Boysenberry Festival! The popular Festival has food, merchandise, and entertainment to celebrate the iconic berry.
Boysenberry Festival Food
Knott’s has one of the best food festivals in Southern California, and they’ve come through with some delicious new options this year. From savory to sweet, tart to spicy, everything is centered around the boysenberry.
Improved Festival Tasting Card
The Tasting Card has returned for this year’s festival with some new changes.
The card allows you to enjoy eight items from a list of fourteen available options for just $35. In previous years, the tasting card only had eight items to choose from with no substitutions (one of each item). This year you can pick and choose or even repeat a favorite item. With a larger selection, there’s something for everyone’s tastes.
With so many options, it can be hard to pick just eight. So we did the hard part and tried all of them!
- Boysenberry BBQ Chicken Skewers with a Boysenberry Aioli (behind Wagon Camp)
The char of the chicken paired with the tang of the boysenberry barbecue sauce and the aioli. Absolutely delicious. However, it’s probably a good idea to check the doneness before consuming. Two of our skewers were served with some raw pieces. But other than that, the done pieces were awesome.
2. Boysenberry and Lemon Hummus (behind Wagon Camp)
This wasn’t one of the more popular options from the Festival, but it is a good choice for vegetarians and vegans. The hummus itself is sweetened from the berries, but is balanced out from the simple pairings.
3.Boysenberry Dry Rubbed Flank Steak with a Boysenberry Cream Cheese topping (across from Sutter’s)
This is definitely a fan-favorite, so be prepared to wait in line for it. However, it is completely worth it. The steak has a kick to it from the rub and the cream cheese topping rounds it out. The potatoes were creamy and buttery with a satisfying sprinkle of salt.
4. Boysenberry Elote (next to Churro Factory)
A corn cob covered in Boysenberry Butter, Boysenberry Mayonnaise, Cheese, and Boysenberry Tortilla chips. This isn’t so much corn on the cob as it is a Boysenberry delivery device. Most of our crew really liked this item.
5. Boysenberry Sausage on a Bun (next to Western Dance Hall)
The sausage itself is fantastic and had ground Boysenberry in it…
…but then you can add as much Boysenberry Ketchup, Boysenberry Mustard, and/or Boysenberry Relish as you want.
6. Boysenberry Homemade Chili in a Boysenberry Sourdough Bread Bowl (next to Western Dance Hall). This is not a traditional chili. It’s not overly spicy, and it’s slightly sweet from Boysenberry. The surprising part is actually the Boysenberry bread bowl. It’s so good that we wouldn’t mind eating it by itself. A surprisingly great paring.
7. Boysenberry Pot Roast over Boysenberry Mashed Potatoes (inside Spurs Chophouse)
This was the star of the show for us. All but the vegans in our group picked this as their favorite item. Yes, the pot roast is savory and slightly sweet, but the Boysenberry mashed potatoes are to die for.
8. Boysenberry Glazed Salmon over Mixed Greens and topped with a Boysenberry Vinaigrette (inside Spurs Chophouse)
The line is short and most folks probably don’t think of fish at a Boysenberry festival. Take advantage of the short line. The salmon is moist, not overly fishy, and a great counterpoint to the sweetness of the berry. A delight.
9. Boysenberry Jerk Chicken Wings (outside Spurs Chophouse)
Wing fans will like this item. But with a small amount of meat on the bones, you’ll find more food for the money with other items on the list.
10. Boysenberry Cinnamon Sugar Flour Tortilla Chips with Boysenberry Ice Cream (over at Ghost Town Bakery)
This is a unique sweet treat. The fried Boysenberry flour tortillas don’t retain much Boysenberry flavor, but the soft-serve Boysenberry ice cream is smooth and bursting with flavor. But eat this one fast, the ice cream melts fast in the SoCal heat.
11. Boysenberry Waffle with a Maple Boysenberry Cream Cheese Syrup (over at Ghost Town Bakery)
Some of us liked this item, others thought it was gritty. If you are a waffle person, let us know what you think.
12. Boysenberry Habanero Baked Mac and Cheese (over at Wagon Wheel Pizza, across from Ghost Rider Exit)
Mac and Cheese is always a fan favorite at festivals. This one is a bit more like a casserole, but it’s a cheese bomb with boysenberry sauce on top. What’s not to love?!
13. Boysenberry Jambalaya with Chicken and Sausage (over at Wagon Wheel Pizza)
If you want a little spice, this one is a surprise hit. The approachable kick of heat with the sweetness of Boysenberry make a well-balanced dish.
14. Boysenberry Pulled Pork Tostada (over at Wagon Wheel Pizza)
And it’s no surprise that we’d like this last item. Boysenberry and pulled pork with tangy slaw is a great option.
Other Boysenberry Options:
There’s also a lot more options beyond what’s available on the Tasting Card. In fact, there are over 50 other offerings available to celebrate the Festival. Here are some of our favorites.
Also new this year, Knott’s has placed many of their Festival options onto their All Day/Season Dining Plans. There is at least one festival option available at almost every quick service around the park.
Sunday Brunch at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant
If you’re looking to get a sampling of the Boysenberry Festival favorites and also some of Mrs. Knott’s famous fried chicken, Sunday Brunch is the way to go. On April 7, 14, and 28 you can experience Brunch from 9am to 1pm at Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. AND, because the restaurant is in the Marketplace outside the park, you don’t need to buy a ticket into the park if you don’t want to. Cost: Children (3-11) $9.79, Adults $36.79, Seniors (62+) $19.79 (plus tax). You can book your reservation Here.
The festival goes through April 28th, and we have lots more content heading your way.
Festival Entertainment
Snoopy’s Boysenberry Jamboree
A returning fan favorite, Snoopy and the gang host a musical adventure. This is a returning favorite and a must-see.
Old Time Melodrama: (Boysenberry Bedlam!)
Returning to the Bird Cage Theatre is another of our favorites, Boysenberry Bedlam! This old-fashion Melodrama will have you cheering for the hero, sighing for the damsel in distress, booing the villain, and chanting for the beautiful dame. This show is fun for the whole family and a great way to take a break in the middle of the day.
Calico Park Fun and Games
Kids can compete in games like a “pie eating contest”, “Grandpa’s Boysenberry Pajamas”, or “the pie walk”.
Pie Eating Contest
Daily at the Calico Mine Stage, you can complete with 7 others to eat the most Boysenberry Pie. This contest is open to all ages (those under 18 have to have a parent or guardian fill out a release form) and it is always entertaining to see what the limits of human stomach are (Joey Chestnut, I’m looking at you).
Fiesta Dance Party
This is the first of two dance parties that will be held nightly in Fiesta Village. At this Dance party, you can dance with DJ Cruz as you groove to some of your favorite party music. And if you don’t know the moves, DJ Cruz will help you out.
80’s Dance Party
This is an 80s-themed dance party, so be sure to do your best robot impression on the dance floor.
Old McDonald’s Farm -Livery Stables
Inside the Livery Barn, you can meet animals like horses, sheep, goats, and other furry friends.
Knott’s Art Display
Inside the Wilderness Dance Hall, there is a display filled with original art collected from a myriad of local SoCal artists.
This is also the room where the wine tastings happen.
Festival Atmosphere
Knott’s Berry Farm is at peak beauty right now. We’ve never seen the park look better. Many new Boysenberry themed gardens have been added throughout the festival area.
In the Charleston Circle area, fountain flowers now adorn the levels of the fountain and some topiary frogs have taken over the water bed.
Around the Farm
Elsewhere in the park . . .
Calico River Rapids Construction
Work continues over at transformation of Bigfoot Rapids to Calico River Rapids. A construction wall has been set up where the water explosion effect will be installed along the edge of the walkway.
Peanuts Celebration Leftovers
Space Beagle continues to play in the Camp Snoopy Theater. One of the best new additions this year from the Peanuts Celebration, but the current incarnation of the show has some modifications.
Previously, the show featured music from Michael Jackson, but his music has now been replaced. Most folks probably don’t realize they’ve even changed it. This is a very popular show.
You can see the portion of the show that changed below:
Over at Sky Cabin, some of the signage at the front has been removed. But it still features a Woodstock’s nest view of Orange County and the greater LA area.
During your ride in the cabin, you can hear the wonderful score of some of the Charlie Brown Specials. If you’re lucky, sometimes you can hear Franklin point out some of the sights as you head up the attraction.
I’m glad this attraction has remained in the park, especially since a lot of the other attractions are pretty high octane.
Ghost Rider Queuing
Over at Ghost Rider, Knott’s has added a single rider line to help make sure that all seats are filled on their busiest coaster. As you walk through the queue, you’ll encounter a park employee who will direct those interested in riding single into a separate line up the staircase. Just like down the road at Disney, wait times are not guaranteed, nor you are guaranteed to ride in a timely manner. But if you see an empty staircase on an upcoming trip, you might consider taking the chance.
The Boysenberry Festival runs through April 28th, so there’s plenty of Boysenberry juice left. We have a lot more to share from the festival soon. Have you visited Knott’s Boysenberry Festival? Spot anything you need to try? Let us know in the comments below.
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