Knotts Berry Farm kicked off their second annual Berry Bloom Festival on April 12th (running through April 27th). It is evident that management knows they have a good idea on their hands as they’ve made some nice enhancements to the event. More decorations, more food, more shows, just more of everything that made Berry Bloom such a success last year.
During Berry Bloom, Knott’s Berry Farm will be open every day from 10am-10pm. During these expanded hours, nearly every minute is jam-packed with live entertainment, food music, and themed experiences.
Peanuts Party in the Park
The lively Peanuts in the Park returns this year to fill the fountain area around Boardwalk Circle with infectious music, smiling faces, bright colors, and a whole lot of fun. A major improvement from last year, the show now features a permanent stage surrounding the fountain that is now, literally overflowing with flowers. A new, sturdy metal framework also surrounds the stage, upon which a brand-spanking new lighting and speaker system are installed.
The show begins when, after a few minutes of music, the cast burst out of the stage door for the Charles Shultz Theatre. Dancers, holding large poles topped with streamers, flowers, and butterflies, and dressed in eye-popping colors, swarm the stage and engage the crowd.
The music is all updated from last year and filled with moments in which you can’t help but dance or clap along.
In one of our favorite moments, the performers get kids from the audience to jump into picnic baskets for a free ride. Handing the kids bubble makers is an adorable touch that adds a little whimsy too.
If we had one critique, the show is too short. But really, it’s a good thing to leave your audience wanting more.
Below is the very first performance of Peanuts Party in the Park. It was a preview for Seasonpass holders. It had a few glitches (no confetti cannons at the end) but you get a great idea of how fun the show is.
Peanuts in the Park plays three times daily in the Boardwalk section of the park. 2:30pm, 4:00pm, and 5:30
Ghost Town Boysenberry Festival
Another major addition to Berry Bloom is the Ghost Town Boysenberry Festival. This is a well decorated area featuring new food, live entertainment and wonderfully executed decor.
To say the food is good, however, is an understatement. Guests are free to wander the streets of the bustling town from booth to booth trying a mouth-watering variety of eats. WOur favorite was the flank steak skewers dripping in boysenberry Barbecue sauce. Really, really good stuff!
There is also a deep fried boysenberry ice cream. WOW.
You can also buy your very own Boysenberry bush to take home and grow.
The Towering Topiary Tasting Garden
If wine tasting is more your thing, there’s a great deal over at the Wilderness Dance Hall. Here Knotts is offering the Towering Topiary Tasting Garden. It’s a beautiful, rustic, yet elegant setting that is home to a huge variety of very impressive wines.
Director of food and beverage, Russ Knibbs, has put together a very impressive roster of wines for guests to try. They have also improved the wine pairing experience here too, making it a far more streamlined and tasty endeavor. For one low price of $15, guests are offered a plate of cheeses, nuts, and fruits along with a card good for 6 glasses of wine.
The Towering Topiary Tasting Garden is open from 12noon to 9pm
Search for the Easter Beagle
The kids aren’t left out of the fun at Berry Bloom. In fact, they get a brand new experience too with the Search for the Easter Beagle. This activity, built in the space just behind Woodstock’s Airmail ride is an Easter Egg hunt in which hunters get a prize at the end for finding all of the eggs. The message is a little muddled here in that there are Mayan-like statues dispensing the pagan inspired christian holiday eggs, but who cares. The kids we saw in there were loving it. And the animated Mayan figures telling jokes area fun and upbeat.
Search for the Easter Beagle is open from 10am-6pm daily and is in Camp Snoopy
Lucy’s Really Big Show
The fact that there is a show at the Camp Snoopy Theatre in time for Berry Bloom is a little bit of a miracle. Lucy’s Really Big Show is simply a rerun from last year. But it was uncertain whether or not the theatre, which is surrounded by a land under refurbishment, would even be ready in time for Berry Bloom. The Knott’s team certainly have the “show must go on” mentality here by trying to keep the place filled with entertainment.
Lucy’s Really Big Show plays at the Camp Snoopy Theatre at 12pm, 1:15pm, and 7pm
Live Entertainment
Calico Saloon Show
11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 4pm, & 5:15pm
Wild West Stunt Show • Wagon Camp
2pm, 5pm, 6:30pm
Cowboy Antics • Birdcage Square
12:45pm & 3pm
Spring Salsa Band • Fiesta Plaza
6:30pm, 8pm, & 9:15pm
Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies • Birdcage Theatre
5:30, 7pm, 8pm, & 9pm
Bumper Bugs
This light overlay of the Wheeler Dealer Bumper Car Ride in the Boardwalk area of the park is a simple, yet effective little overlay that adds an extra layer of fun to the old ride. They didn’t HAVE to do it, but they did it anyway. It’s great.
Bloomination Dance Party
As night falls, the night time Bloomination Dance Party takes over the Boardwalk circle area where the Peanuts Party in the Park was performed earlier on the day. It’s an impressively produced dance area, complete with roaming stilt walkers and dancers. DJ HowLy is spinning music throughout the run and he has a way with the turntables. Good mixes flow and the light show is consistently interesting.
The Bloomination Dance Party runs from 7:30pm to 10:30pm in Boardwalk Circle
The Knotts Berry Bloom festival is quickly becoming one of our favorite times of year to visit the park. The lively entertainment, the food, music, and the arts and crafts, bring this park to life in a fun way. We highly recommend stopping by and checking out the Berry Bloom and hope Knott’s will continue to grow this wonderful event.
You must be logged in to post a comment.