The boysenberry may be a summer fruit, but Knott’s Berry Farm finds plenty of ways to celebrate its origins and various holidays year-round.
The calendar year kicks off with the Knott’s Peanuts Celebration, held on select weekends in late January and February, featuring live shows with Peanuts characters, meet-and-greets with them, and added attractions like drop-in character-drawing classes. In March, Ghost Town is consumed with the Knott’s Boysenberry Festival, when your pass gets you tastings of creative berry-fueled dishes (like chicken wings with a boysenberry glaze, or quesadillas made with purple boysenberry tortillas and accented with a spicy berry dipping sauce). You can even pair your food with boysenberry wine, along with other local wines and beers. During the summer, the Wild West section of the park is the focal point of Ghost Town Alive!, with appearances by bandits, cowboys, and regular folks taking part in regular western hoedowns.
The holiday season kicks off with Knott’s Scary Farm (typically from mid-September through Halloween), when the park gets a spooky makeover, with haunted houses and mazes that feel like live horror films and thrill rides that go dark. The park walkways are even in play, with creepy clowns and zombies popping in and out of the fog. The scarefest only runs on select nights during the season, and is not recommended for kids under 13. Littler kids (or grownups who aren’t fond of ghouls) will like Knott’s Spooky Farm, which runs on select days, when there is trick or treating in Ghost Town, a Halloween Hootenanny on the Timber Mountain Log Ride, and a special show at the Camp Snoopy Theatre.
By mid-November, the park shifts into Knott’s Merry Farm (running through early January), when holiday trimmings cover the park, carolers stroll, and shows abound, like a few different Peanuts shows (including Snoopy on Ice), a Wild West-themed holiday show at the Calico Saloon, and old-fashioned takes on A Christmas Carol and The Gift of the Magi staged at the Bird Cage Theatre. Stay for the evening when man-made snow falls over Ghost Town.
