Tag: ghost Town

KNOTT’S BOYSENBERRY FESTIVAL IS COMING!

On By TimothyIn Knott's Berry FarmLeave a comment

KNOTT’S BOYSENBERRY FESTIVAL INVITES GUESTSTO ADOWN HOME FOOD FEST THIS SPRINGThe Celebration Will Feature Over 70 Boysenberry Inspired Dishes, Drinks and More, PlusLive Entertainment For All Ages, March 19 –April 3

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Celebrate Knott’s historic berry during Knott’s Boysenberry Festival, March 19 –April 3, in Ghost Town,the heart of the theme park. The 16-day food festival features over 70, one-of-a-kind boysenberry inspired fare, drinks and more, the Wine and Craft Brew Tasting Garden,plus live entertainment and fun the whole family will love! From sun up to sun down, the festival features dueling fiddlers, PEANUTSParty in the Park, vinedancing, live music, Jammin’ in the Dark(a nighttime dance party).

Festivalgoers can also shop for the perfect handmade gift at dozens of craft vendors located in Ghost Town.The limited-time festival is included with admission to Knott’s Berry Farm. In the 1930s Walter Knott harvested the boysenberry, a cross between a loganberry, red raspberry and blackberry, and named the new berry after its originator,Rudolph Boysen. Today, all boysenberries in the world can trace their roots back to Knott’s BerryFarm. In 2015, the Park made delicious history with the debut of the Fun Bun during the Boysenberry Festival.

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Returningin 2016, thewidely acclaimed culinary creationis a deep fried cinnamon roll with boysenberry cheese toppingthat willnot disappoint.During the food fest, over 70 unique boysenberry inspired food, drinks and more will be offered, including the delectable Berry Market Boysenberry BBQsauce which adds the perfect flavor to ribs, BBQ chicken, chicken wings, and more. Other must try itemsincludecrispy deep fried alligator bites that are paired with farm-made zesty boysenberry aioli, deep fried boysenberry ice cream, finger-lickin boysenberry BBQ wings and many more delicious treats. Additional fee for tastings.

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Guests who want to take home the exquisite Boysenberry BBQ sauce, Boysenberry Butter, Boysenberry Mustard and more, can do so by stopping bythe Berry Marketlocated in the MarketPlace and General Storelocatedin Ghost Town. Select items are available on the online Berry Market store.In honor of the famous berry, guests can wine, dine, dance, and buy boysenberry inspired products throughout the winding streets of the Old West.

Festival entrances will feature rustic banners and oversized boysenberries, just ripe for taking that special photo.Walter & Cordelia Knott’s Original Roadside Boysenberry Stand will be recreated for the special event, from which guests can purchase authentic boysenberry plants.unspecified-8

The Knott family sold freshly picked boysenberries from the original stand, and the rest, as they say, is history!As part of the festival, the Wine and Craft Brew Tasting Garden, located inside of Ghost Town’s Wilderness Dance Hall, will featureboysenberry wine, beer and cider, plus an assortment of wine and craft brew labels, in addition to a variety of gourmetfood that’s just bursting with flavor. Just outside of the Dance Hall, towering sculpted topiaries provide shade during warm spring days and twinkle brighter than stars at night.

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The Boysenberry Festival also features an extensive line up of live entertainment. At the heart of all of the excitement is Birdcage Square, located in front ofthe famous Bird Cage Theatre. Here, a stage will be set for daily contests like pie eating, a pie walk, Grandpa’s Boysenberry PJs Contest, where guests will race to stuff the oversized long johns with balloons, and more. In the evening, the Square will have guests kicking up their heels with vinedancing, a down home jug band and dueling fiddlers and banjos!At night, just inside of the Bird Cage Theatre, things get krazywhen Krazy Kirk and the Hillbilliesmount their toe tappin’, knee-slappin’, gut-bustin’ country comedy show that will have audiences clamoring for more! Just across from the Theatre on the Fireman’s Brigadestage,live bandswill play Countrymusic’s best tunes from dusk to Park closing.Right up the road from Birdcage Square, kids can join the classic Bear-y Tales characters in their very own pie making kitchen inside of Ghost Town’s Craft Barn. With the help of Razz Bear-y, Boysen Bear-y and the other Bear-y family members, each beautifully painted scene will follow the world famous boysenberry from field to blue ribbon winning pie! The pint sized chefs can also make their very own delightfully sweet boysenberry tarts complete with a crumble topping. Additional cost applies for tart making. unspecified-9

Located in the Boardwalk area,the iconic Charleston Circle fountain transforms into a beautiful floral fountain, adorned with colorful flowers and boysenberries creating an iconic centerpiece for the celebration. PEANUTSParty in the Parkcelebrates spring in a big way with infectious music, vibrant set design, and an invitation for the audience to be a part of the show! After sundown, Calico Stage will transform into an immersivenighttimedance party, Jammin’ in the Dark,complete withLED lighting effects affixed to the stage where DJHowLy will spin the hottest dance music for all ages. The boysenberry celebration is almost too much fun to stomach!While strolling through the bustling streets of Ghost Town, guests can capture the moment and the memories at boysenberry themed stand-in cutouts, like wanted posters, a boysenberry farming family and more. Festivalgoers can also watch special demonstrations including a chainsaw wood sculpting, glass blowing and blacksmithing. While enjoying the festival, guests may meet Ghost Town’s mayor,Mayor Desmond Ryder and his lovely wife, Josephine. From day to night, Ghost Town has never looked so lively.Springtime fun has also taken root in Camp Snoopy and Fiesta Village. During the limited-time event, the whole family can meet theEaster Beaglein his Camp Snoopy home, blooming with colorful springtime décor. The meet and greet location is the perfect place for shareable moments with the boisterous beagle and his friends –Charlie Brown, Lucy, Sally,and Linus. In Camp Snoopy Theatre, Lucy’s Really BIG Spring Show will showcase the PEANUTSpals singing, dancing, and celebrating springtime. The theater will be filled with the sweet sound of little ones as they singing-along to the to the show’s cheerful tunes! Guests don’t have to be experts at the cha-cha-cha to enjoy nighttime dancing with the Opa OpaSalsa Band in Fiesta Village. Everyone will be sure to take to the floorand dance to the rhythmic beat of popular Latin music. unspecified-5

The Boysenberry Festival is included with admission to Knott’s Berry Farm, additional cost for food tasting experiences within the event, which also offers a full day of thrilling coasters and family fun rides.

Knott’s has extended hours, 10am to 10pm, fromMarch 19 –April 3, allowing guests extra time to take advantageof all of the limited-time offerings.Join the conversation and share your day of boysenberry fun by using #BoysenberryFestival on Twitter and Instagram. For information about the day you plan to visit and available discounts,

knotts.com, call (714) 220-5200, or download the newly updated Knott’s Berry Farm mobile app for your smartphone.

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Ghost Town 75th Anniversary!

On By TimothyIn Knott's Berry FarmLeave a comment

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New Calico Stage, Re tracked Ghostrider with new trains, and Knott’s Chicken Dinner Rentovation!

In 2016, Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town will celebrate its 75th anniversary with two major offerings next summer.  The centerpiece of the summer 2016 celebration is the interactive entertainment experience, Ghost Town Alive!, which immerses guests in new stories and adventures in the familiar town of Calico. The west is about to get even wilder when GhostRider returns from a major restoration project with all new trains that will gallop along over 4,500 feet of new wooden track.

In summer 2016, Ghost Town Alive! will allow guests young and young at heart to live the west through inventive new ways to interact with characters and environments as each day, a different story will unfold throughout all of Ghost Town.  From pledging one’s allegiance to notorious bandits, to saving the day alongside courageous cowboys, guests play an active role in shaping the events of the day.  Every evening, the day’s story culminates with a town wide celebration of 75 years of Calico.

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Walter Knott’s love for the Wild West was evident in the attention to detail that he put into the peek-ins peppered throughout town. Next summer, select peek-ins will be transformed into authentic working establishments, and guests will be welcomed to step inside. At the Barber Shop, guests can walk in and meet Calico’s trusted barber who’s rife with town gossip.

In the Sheriff’s office, guests can try their luck at a game of cards with the sneaky Sheriff and other Calico townsfolk.  Here, guests can also decide whether they join the lawmen to hunt down the bandits or choose the criminal life and end up with their face on a handmade wanted poster.

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In the heart of Ghost Town, the Barn will close on April 4, and when it reopens for Ghost Town Alive!, it will have been transformed into a working horse stable where guests can visit with Calico’s friendly equestrian team.

Construction is underway on a new Calico Stage, which will open across the train tracks from its current location, in the area Screamin’ Swing formerly occupied. The stage, themed after an old abandoned mine, will feature an all-new show for summer 2016.  The standing viewing area for the new stage is nearly twice as large as the current viewing area, ensuring even more guests can enjoy seasonal live entertainment. The new venue is scheduled to open in Spring of 2016.

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When the new Calico Stage opens, the space that the existing stage and viewing area currently occupy will become Calico Park.  Here, guests will enjoy a shady respite from the hustle and bustle of the Town, with a small stage for live performances, and twinkling lights adorning the trees after the sun sets.  Calico Park is set to open in Summer 2016.  Adjacent to Calico Park stands the iconic Calico Saloon, which will feature a raucous new show next summer.  A new western stunt show in Wagon Camp will also debut in summer 2016.  Both the Calico Saloon and Wagon Camp will close in early 2016 in for renovations and new show preparations.

Ghost Town Alive! will take interactive storytelling to new heights when it debuts next summer, and for guests really seeking to achieve some heights, they should look no further than to the return of the beloved classic wooden roller coaster, GhostRider.

Since 1998, GhostRider has been giving white-knuckle rides to even the toughest cowpokes. It still looms over Ghost Town as the longest, fastest and tallest wooden rollercoaster on the West Coast.  In September 2015, work began to completely restore and preserve this classic wooden rollercoaster.  The project is a partnership with Great Coasters International and includes re-profiling and a complete wooden re-tracking of the entire 4,533 ft. long track.

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All of the coasters trains will be replaced with state of the art new Millennium Flyer trains designed to look like mining cars, each with gold, silver, or copper accents.  As part of the construction, the mid-course brake run will be removed, allowing riders to enjoy a relentless, ride from the moment the train descends the first 108 ft. drop to the moment it returns to the station’s new, smooth magnetic brake run.

“GhostRider was the last attraction commissioned by the Knott family, and this restoration project ensures that the family’s final gift to the park will continue to thrill generations of thrill seekers to come,” said Raffi Kaprelyan, Knott’s Berry Farm’s vice president and general manager. “Seventy five years ago, Walter and Cordelia Knott created a place where guests could live out their dreams of the Wild West, and I think they’d be very proud of how it continues to resonate with guests of a new generation.”

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When GhostRider re-opens, the queue will snake past Panning for Gold, which returns to its original Ghost Town home next summer.  The return to its former location will allow for a more spacious panning experience, which means a more comfortable experience and better photo ops to capture the moment when a loved one strikes it rich!

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In 1940, Walter Knott looked for a way to entertain and educate hungry guests waiting for hours to dine at the iconic Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. Ghost Town was born from Walter’s passion for providing restaurant patrons with unique entertainment and fondness for Wild West. The area celebrates the California-bound pioneers that crossed the desert by covered wagon, just as Walter’s family had back in 1868. Brick by brick, building by building, the old west town of Calico came to life in 1941 and has been visited by millions for the past 75 years.

While reflecting on Ghost Town in a letter written in December 1954, Walter Knott wrote, “I [am] very proud of this place we have built. You know we never fully enjoy the things we love until we share them with those we love.”  Next summer, Knott’s invites families to share in Ghost Town’s anniversary celebration with the ones they love, and make new memories in the old west.

For more information on Ghost Town Alive! and GhostRider’s comprehensive restoration, visit Knotts.com or download the Knott’s Berry Farm app for your smart phone. Join the conversation using #GhostTown75.

Knott’s Merry Farm is Coming!

On By TimothyIn Knott's Merry FarmLeave a comment

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Now that the Halloween season is over … wah, Theme parks in So Cal turn into a Winter Wonderland! Knott’s Merry Farm is a must every year! This year even more Snow at Ghost Town! Full line up listed below for more info visit Knotts.com

Starting November 21st, Knott’s Berry Farm is filled with the spirit of the holiday season as it wondrously transforms into Knott’s Merry Farm!

The perfect place to make holiday memories and traditions invites guests to celebrate with thrillingattractions, live entertainment, a crafts fair, festive food, lavish holiday decorations, and nightly snow in Ghost Town.

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Returning this year, the PEANUTS® gang, and a cast of world class ice skaters perform in the breathtaking ice show, Merry Christmas, Snoopy! in the 2,100 seat Charles M. Schulz Theatre. In this whimsical show, Snoopy enjoys all of the best parts of the season, including trimming the Christmas tree, awaiting Santa’s arrival, and attending the Christmas Ball! Select dates, November 21 – Jan 3(dark Wednesdays).

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The Wilderness Dance Hall in Ghost Town transforms into Santa’s Christmas Cabin for the holiday season. Here, the young and the young at heart can share their wish lists with jolly ol’ St. Nick and take home a picture of the occasion. Indulge in holiday delights like Santa’s homemade cookies, mouthwatering pastries, fresh roasted nuts, seasonal craft beer, and decadent cinnamon rolls. Knott’s world-famous holiday treats can be found all throughout Ghost Town, including fresh poured-to-order maple lollipops at the Gold Trails Hotel, holiday churros from the Churro Factory, and warm gingerbread men baked at the Farm Bakery.

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The Ghost Town and Calico Railroad will once again invite guests to celebrate Christmas on Engine 41. Vintage railcars are filled with an ever-changing group of cheery Ghost Town denizens eager to share their busy Christmas plans. A perfect reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, the Camp Snoopy theater will debut an all-new show,Christmas Time is Here, Charlie Brown.The show features a delightful mash up of some of your favorite holiday songs with a cheerful and heartwarming dose of the Peanuts gang.

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Relax and unwind in Knott’s Christmas Crafts Village, as Ghost Town transforms into a shopping wonderland filled with dozens of local artisans selling their unique gifts. Can’t-miss highlights of the Village include powerful chainsaw sculpting and elegant glass blowing demonstrations. Entrance to the Knott’s Christmas Crafts Village is free Monday through Thursday, November 23 – December 10, and is included with theme park admission every day.

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Strolling the pathways of Ghost Town, The Calico Carolers share the sounds of the season through songs and hand bell chimes. In the intimate setting of Ghost Town’s historic Bird Cage Theatre, Knott’s melodrama company brings to life Charles Dickens’A Christmas Caroland O. Henry’s A Gift of the Magi with daily performances.

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When the sun sets on the Farm, the buildings and paths in Ghost Town will twinkle to the beat of holiday music while snow gently falls. This year, snow falls across even more of Ghost Town, from the School House to the Saloon and down to the Assay Office.

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Another nighttime tradition at Knott’s Merry Farm is Snoopy’s Merriest Tree Lighting show on the Calico Square Stage. This whimsical tree lighting features a cast of marching toy soldiers, the loveable Mrs. Claus, dancing snowmen, and the world’s most famous beagle, Snoopy!

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The toe tappin’, hand clappin’, comedy and bluegrass of Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies continues their Knott’s Merry Farm residency this holiday season in the Birdcage Theatre on select nights. Plus, the upbeat blue grass quartet, the Ghost Town Miners, make their eagerly awaited return to the Fireman’s BBQ stage. Southern California’s finest live bluegrass bands can only be seen at Knott’s Merry Farm.

The perfect stocking stufferis now on-sale! A 2016 Season Passincludes one free admission in 2015, unlimited visits in 2016 with no blackout dates, discounts on select food and merchandise, and access to exciting year-round seasonal events. For affordable year-round fun for everyone on your “nice”list, Season Passes start at just $81.00, the best price of the year for a limited time.

To learn more visit knotts.com or call (714) 220-5200. Join the festive conversation using the holiday hashtag #MerryFarm on the Knott’s Facebook or Twitterpages.