Hold onto your hats, because Knott’s Berry Farm’s summer offerings are up and running at full steam! Knott’s summer lineup is absolutely packed to the gills with entertainment and activities. A re-imagined land is now open, the evening food festival and concert series have been majorly expanded, and everyone is invited to live their own western adventure in an interactive roleplaying experience. It’s a lot to take in— in the best way possible— so let’s take a look…

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Ghost Town Alive

Welcome to the annual Calico Founder’s Day! This is the setting of Knott’s Berry Farm’s live-action-roleplaying experience, Ghost Town Alive. In the heart of the park, Ghost Town comes to life with all the citizens to celebrate the anniversary of Calico. The kooky cast of characters invites all guests to interact and immerse themselves into the evolving interactive storyline from 10am to the big hoedown finale at 4:30pm. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

This is a unique kind of experience, one that really doesn’t have a rival in Southern California. It truly is a choose-your-own-adventure where you decide just how involved to be and which characters to get involved with. Your actions actually have consequences in the story! Every time you visit Ghost Time Alive, the story will be different based on what has and hasn’t been done before.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Old Betsy was beautifully restored and returned to Ghost Town just in time for summer!

The experience is carried by the peculiar cast of Calico townsfolk. 

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Between the lawmen, outlaws, post office, newspaper, trappers, bankers, teachers, and other characters, there are tons of paths to choose from. Although, you often might find that stories will spring themselves onto you. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Every year, a new story is developed and this year is quite a doozy. The former owner of the bank has left the deed to the most heinous criminal in Calico. Whoever has committed the most crimes by the end of Founder’s Day will receive that title and the deed to the bank! 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Needless to say, this creates quite a lot of chaos throughout the day as visitors to Calico align themselves with the different outlaw groups in town…or the law to put a stop to it. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

This photo of everyone in jail is my favorite as it sums up the experience. Judge Roy Bean had ordered all criminals to be jailed (in a single tiny cell in the middle of town). Naturally, all the townsfolk are now in jail. It’s pure chaos as all the players rally around the Sheriff’s office. Kids are pleading with the deputies, many now-criminals are just hanging onto the bars because they don’t all fit inside, and all the while good ‘ol Dirt is in the cell waving around a bag with a stolen diamond in it. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!  , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Indeed, the story this year creates even more strange and random happenings. While some are scripted, quite a lot is organic. For example, in the middle of a conversation with Judge Roy Bean, he noticed that someone had stolen his painting of the Mona Lisa. It was now replaced with a crudely drawn illustration and a placard denoting this was a painting of the Mona Lisa being painted.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Town Hall also had this cute paper mache map of Calico

During the course of a quest for the bank, I managed to witness some gold being deposited, bump into an outlaw, watch the bank get robbed, cheer on a fistfight on the saloon balcony, participate in an election for Sheriff, be held hostage in yet another bank robbery, and follow the robbers to jail. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Wes totally made up this quest for me on the fly based on a tip from another visitor

Ghost Town Alive is a lot like completing a ton of side quests while avoiding the main quest… except the outcome is the opposite. While you’re attempting to complete tasks and follow story threads between the townsfolk, the main story comes in and changes everything. Or, in some cases, someone else’s entirely different quest will come in and intertwine with yours. It’s truly a dynamic experience. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Right in the middle of all this, Miss Cameo Kate is running a show in the Bird Cage Theatre. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

It’s largely the same toe-tappin’, rip-roarin’ western musical revue that we loved from last year. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

There’s plenty of dancing, singing, and even a live band that doubles as a musical act and comedy routine. 

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To top it off, what’s a Cameo Kate show without can-can dancing?

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Ghost Town Alive ends with the 4:30pm Founder’s Day Hoedown where the day’s story wraps up. Overall, the level of polish this year may prove to be the best Ghost Town Alive yet. The dynamism is balanced perfectly with the chaos. Even the scripted elements fit in an organic way, including some great choreography and place-making. I hope everyone gets the chance to pop in and experience a taste of their own wild west adventure.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Summer Nights

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

After an hour gap, Knott’s shifts into nighttime entertainment. Summer Nights consists of two elements: a summer food festival and a concert series with three rotating stages. The food has expanded all over the park this year, creating an absolutely gigantic menu to choose from.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

The Summer Tasting Card is still the way to go. For $55, you receive 6 different tastes (though, some items are really a full meal!) of your choosing. Beyond the booths clustered around the Summer Nights stages, there are tons of restaurants serving special items. This includes the now-reopened and reimagined Fiesta Village, which has several locations in and around the land.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Booths dot the pathway between the Summer Nights stages and Fiesta Village, creating a clear pathway between the two party areas. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

As usual, the food at Knott’s doesn’t disappoint. Nothing we tried between Fiesta Village and Summer Nights left us unhappy with our purchase. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Potato and Chorizo Tacos

Knott’s is doing something funny here. They’re describing items as “tastes.” This is described as a “slider.” 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Blue Cheese and Bacon Cheeseburger Slider with a Pickle Mayo

That is not a slider. That is a full burger. Just about everything we tried was of entree size. I’m glad my fellow MiceChat contributor, Nathan Villamor, showed up to help me because there’s just no way one person can eat 6 entree-sized “tastes.” That means the Summer Tasting Card goes a long way. 

To help indecisive readers pick six items on their tasting cards, we have “MiceChat’s Berry Best.” Boy, is it hard to pick six items, but I’ll try:

MiceChat’s Berry Best

1. Beignets with a Lemon Powdered Sugar

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

During the Boysenberry Festival, we pleaded with Knott’s to keep the insanely delicious beignets. We called them “the best theme park beignets!” because they really were that good. It seems they may have heard us because the beignets are back with a summertime lemon-flavored sugar topping. In addition, they’re included on the tasting card this time! 

We’re not kidding when we gush about Knott’s beignets. Here’s a reminder of their debut for Boysenberry Festival:

If you didn’t try them during Boysenberry Festival, you have to try them for Summer Nights! They were our #1 pick for Boysenberry Festival and they’re now our #1 pick for Summer Nights!

2. Cucumber, Black Cherry, Mango, and Ginger Mint Agua Fresca

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

We didn’t pick this on our first tasting card but regretted it when we went back and tried it later. It’s incredibly smooth and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer evening. The flavors all mix together in this deliciously complex way!

3. Blue Cheese and Bacon Cheeseburger Slider with a Pickle Mayo

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Yup, the “slider” I mentioned above is our #3 standout. It is indeed a bacon cheeseburger, but with the addition of blue cheese, onion crumbles, and pickle mayo, it becomes the perfect summertime burger! Seriously, I don’t even like blue cheese that much, but it mixes into the flavor palette quite well. 

4. Chimichurri Hot Link Sausage

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

When Knott’s says “hot link,” they mean it, this sausage is surprisingly spicy! There’s a tangy and spicy flavor with the addition of pickled onions and chimichurri. This hotlink is one of the best in the long line of delicious Knott’s festival sausage dishes.  

5. Elotes

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Knott’s seems to always have amazing elotes, but just for Summer Nights, they’ve decided to do three different kinds. My personal favorite is the traditional Elote Preparado, while Nathan felt the tangy sauce on the Loco Salvadoreño really brought it up a notch. Whichever one you choose, definitely bring napkins. 

6. Apple Pie Cookie

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

A surprise standout, the Apple Pie Cookie is the perfect item to box up and take home…I had to because I couldn’t finish what we had ordered already. It’s exactly what you think, a cookie with Knott’s apple pie filling in it. What’s not to like?

Here are some other items we’ve tried:

Many of these gigantic entree-sized “tastes” on the tasting card are actually included in the dining plan. We made the mistake of using the card on a few items I could’ve used my dining plan on before we realized this. That also means that if you’re not buying a tasting card, there are still Summer Nights items you can try. In addition, keep in mind that some items are cheaper a la carte than what one taste is worth on the card (~$9).

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

After you’ve picked up a snack (well, probably a bit more than a snack), it’s time to party the night away at the three rotating stages. Each stage also has a rotating roster of artists depending on the day.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

The Calico Mine Stage hosts pop bands like Tomasina. Producer Chris Do expressed his excitement for the inclusion of a 90s rock band in the rotation this year. For all the Millennials that grew up on the likes of Green Day, Knott’s has you covered.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

The hilarious Summer Nights hosts return this year with punny names like Gerry Atric and this new character, Danny Serr (who, like his name suggests, danced the night away with Tomasina).

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

The Charleston Circle DJ spins tunes in between Calico Mine Stage sets. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

Last but not least, the Calico Park stage hosts a wide variety of genres including classic rock, jazz, swing, and more. A Santana tribute band was playing the first night.

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm! , Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

This year, it seems like the park is set up to shuttle you between the Summer Nights stages and Fiesta Village. Grab an elote on the way over and check out Calle Celebración, an immersive nighttime street party. Three stages are spread across Fiesta Village, each with dancers, stilt walkers, and giant colorful puppets. 

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!

We covered all the new shiny goodness over at Fiesta Village on its opening day, which you can read about here:

FIRST LOOK! Newly Reimagined Fiesta Village Now Open at Knott’s Berry Farm!

All this doesn’t account for the regular entertainment throughout the rest of the park. Fiesta Village alone hosts several shows throughout the day and a band at night between Calle Celebración showings. Krazy Kirk is playing in the Wagon Camp, the Ghost Town Miners are at the Boardwalk BBQ, Ride the Tide is at the Boardwalk BBQ…The entire park seems to be immersed in live entertainment for the summer! We’re really looking forward to visiting again soon.


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, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
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Let’s Hear From You

Summer is shaping up to be huge at Knott’s Berry Farm. There’s just so much to see between Ghost Town Alive, Summer Nights, and Fiesta Village. So many shows! You can’t possibly watch or eat everything in a single evening. Let’s hear from you. Which elements of the summer offerings appeal to you most? Do you have a favorite show or band for the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

, Summer Comes Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Timber Mountain Log Ride returned for summer after a lengthy five-month refurbishment!

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Scott Attula
Author, photographer, videographer, Disney Cast Member. Scott comes from multiple Disney generations and disciplines, including his Grandpa Fred and father at Imagineering and his Grandpa Bill and mother in Live Entertainment. For MiceChat, Scott focuses on other SoCal parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios. He can be found at theme parks on a semi-frequent basis trying to get that perfect angle. Check out Scott on Instagram @AttulaPhoto