Knott’s Gets Crafty For Christmas

It’s almost Christmas, and although the California theme parks have been closed since March, Knott’s Berry Farm has been offering alternative activities for fans. This holiday season started off promisingly with the Knott’s Taste of Merry Farm craft and food festival. While no rides were operated, shops were open, dozens of holiday food kiosks, and charming craft booths staffed by local vendors. Unfortunately, the event had to be canceled when outdoor dining was rolled back in Southern California. 

But Knott’s has been flexible and quick to make changes, and this time around they simply did away with the food booths and reopened the park with craft booths, and some festival foods packaged to-go (no eating on property). They’ve also kept the charming Camp Snoopy open for a festival holiday stroll.  

EDITOR’S NOTE: A warm welcome to MiceChat’s newest contributor, Cathy LaFever. We think you’ll love her photos, and we can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.  

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Taste of Merry Farm

Let’s quickly remember the early version of the festival. The entire park was open to guests and ALL of it was decorated for the holidays. Festive foods, beverage, limited entertainment, a holiday trail, and photos with Santa were all part of the magic. A limited number of guests were allowed in each day to ensure a safe experience. It was a great event while it lasted. 

For Taste of Merry Farm, the whole park was open (sans rides!) and every land was decorated for the holidays: Ghost Town, Boardwalk, Fiesta Village, and Camp Snoopy. Let’s take a quick stroll through Ghost Town first:

The park did a fantastic job creating an altered entertainment experience, where characters from Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” would shout impromptu lines from the story and quasi-act out the story as you make your way through Ghost Town.

The story was even carried into Calico’s graveyard, where the Ghost of Christmas Future would tell Scrooge about what lay ahead if he didn’t change his miserly ways.

At night, Ghost Town comes alive with a display of lights.

Periodically, the lights in Ghost Town dance to the music. 

Over in Charleston Square, the upcoming Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair attraction is decked out in boysenberry-colored lights with plenty of boysenberry decor around the area for good measure. 

Just in front of that, the Charleston Fountain is covered in magical ice with beautiful swans basking in the light.

Down the road a little bit, the Boardwalk had an interesting display of mid-century inspired Christmas, plus a comic live “radio show” broadcast through the area.

If you kept walking, you’d head straight into Fiesta Village. It was vibrant and full of color.

And over in Camp Snoopy, the entire land became a trail of lights and character photo opportunities. 

And while the decorations made for a festive atmosphere, the food made it all extra special. 

You can see photos of the food and entertainment in our opening day coverage here: 

Taste of Merry Farm is a Feast of Holiday Festivities

Although all remaining dates for Taste of Merry Farm festival have been canceled, it’s not all bad… you can still visit Knott’s for a bit of revised holiday cheer…

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Christmas Crafts Village

It only took Knott’s a few days after the cancelation of Merry Farm to retool, scale back, and reopen as the “Christmas Crafts Village.” The new version of the event takes place only in Ghost Town and Camp Snoopy. The rest of the park remains closed and all of the food booths have been shuttered. However, the vendor craft booths have all been moved to Ghost Town and most of the Ghost Town shops also remain open.  

Real artisans are on site blowing glass, carving wood, making jewelry… 

The shops are very merry and bright . . . 

As an added bonus, Camp Snoopy is also available for a stroll through the holiday lights and decorations. Truly magical.

Since the guests can’t, we love seeing gnomes riding the attractions in Camp Snoopy

And while the Peanuts meet and greets from Merry Farm have closed, there are still some figures about the land. 

The waterfall valley has been decorated with packages. 

It takes on a more colorful look at night. 

If you look above the Peanuts shop, you might just spot jolly ol’ Saint Nick. 

Knott’s has also added these non-Peanuts figures. Playful penguins dance about part of the land.  

 

And, before you leave, stop by Sutter’s Grill to buy festival foods packaged to go. 

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Christmas Crafts Village Remaining Dates

Knott’s has added a few extra days to their Christmas Crafts Village lineup. You can visit today, plus the 26th and 27th. There are no reservations needed to visit, and it’s a great place to stroll and take in Knott’s hard work for transforming the park into a winter wonderland. 

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