It’s that time of year again! One of our favorite events around, the Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival, has officially started again, and it sure was a lot of fun! With new foods, new entertainment, and the World Boysenberry Pie Eating Championship, we had a wonderful day. The event in general is just simply wonderful. Join us as we take a look at this year’s event!
– Recently our images have popped up on other sites and forums, awesome that our coverage spreads, not so awesome that no one mentioned where they got the images from. We are totally fine with our audience using our images, BUT ONLY IF credit is given to californiacoasterkings.com. Thank you! –
With all other coverage I did these couple of days, I couldn’t complete this overview as quickly as I wished for, nonetheless, here it is! We were at Knott’s Berry Farm on Saturday the 19th, the opening day of the event, for a sunny and fun Boysenberry Festival Media Day! 
Let’s dive right into the heart and soul of Knott’s Berry Farm, Ghost Town! Notice the awesome decorations, they’re simplistic but totally add to that genuine spring feeling. Oh and boysenberries are delicious, so it’s perfect foreshadowing of the flavorful goodness to come…
The Boysenberry festival is FILLED with entertainment, including good ol’ Ghost Town interaction with guests at an interactive ‘show’; the Berry Jamboree. 
The Calico Saloon has also reopened just in time for this event, with the Calico Saloon Show to be seen multiple days during the event, and will continue after the event is over! 
Then there’s also the Lucy’s Really Big Spring Show, located in Camp Snoopy, for the younger guests visiting the event!
Our favorite family show though, is most definitely the Peanuts Party in the Park show at the fountain on the Boardwalk. The show is different than any other show as it pretty much separates the stage into three equal sections for a real 360′ degrees sort of show. 
There’s live singing and lots of dancing. In addition to which the audience participation is key to the show, and kids play a pretty great role. It’s one of the more professional live shows regarding the peanuts. It’s a bit overdone almost, but families love it. 
Let’s take another look around the event before heading to the World Boysenberry Pie Eating Championship. Here’s some more theming in Ghost Town.
And the unique theming on the Boardwalk. Lots of colorful real, and not-so-real flowers. 
This event, much like Merry Farm, features many outside vendors that showcase and sell their handmade or exclusive items! It’s one of the unique aspects of Knott’s Berry Farm’s events. 
Let’s move on to one of the grand events of the day… the World Boysenberry Pie Eating Championship! Where people shoved pounds and pounds of delicious boysenberry pie into their mouths in a not-so-delicious way 😛
Contestants had 8 minutes to eat as much pie as they possibly could, using lots of water to wash it all down. It was both awesome, and unbelievable to see. I mean I love boysenberry pie, but by no means would I ever be able to eat anywhere as much or as quickly, as they do. 
The winner of the World Boysenberry Pie Eating Championship was Joey Chestnut, who won last year, and set a new record by eating an insane amount of 14.5 pounds of pie. He did win a very cool trophy and $2000. 😛
- Joey Chestnut 14.5 pounds (New World Record) $2,000 prize
- Steve Hendry 10.25 pounds $1,000 prize
- Miki Sudo 9.5 pounds $600 prize
- Michelle Lesco 9 pounds $300 prize
- Tie: Rich LeFevre + Justin Mi 8.5 pounds $100 prize – shared.
Back to less pie but more food, drinks and deliciousness! The Wilderness Dance Hall hosts the Knott’s Boysenberry Festival Wine & Craft Brew Tasting. 
Which is a large scale… Wine and Craft Brew tasting. It takes place both inside and outside and there are lots of specialty and exclusive alcoholic beverages available to be tasted! 
Though the real highlight of the event is the hundreds of boysenberry food items they have. Besides the crazy awesome Fun Bun and Fun Stick, they also sell a wide array of other foods. Such as boysenberry barbecue wings. 
The park offers a $25 tasting card during the event, with 6 different items. Some items change each year, and some fan-favorite items have returned the past few years. (Note the punch card in my hand in the shot below). This year’s tasting card includes Boysenberry BBQ Short Ribs, Spicy Boysenberry BBQ Wings, Fried Alligator Bites with Fries and Boysenberry Aioli (LOVE), Boysenberry BBQ Meatballs, Boysenberry Panna Cotta, and Boysenberry Desert Flautas! It’s pretty much a day’s worth of food, and it allows you to truly enjoy the Boysenberry Festival. Thus I advice everyone visiting the event to get a tasting card! The picture below features the famous… Boysenberry BBQ Meatballs! 
Let’s not forget that the event is in the Spring, and what better rides to ride in the hot SoCal Spring weather than… water rides such as the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Bigfoot Rapids! 
And of course while at the park for the event, you hop on their classic Calico Mine Ride and some thrill rides such as Supreme Scream in the background. 
At night the event hosts Jammin’ in the Dark. Which has been moved to the Calico Stage this year with limited room in the old location due to construction. And I must say, they really created an awesome new version of the show. With a single DJ and a whole new light package, fog machines, and TV screens, this area came to life with an incredible atmosphere and was a lot of fun. Definitely make sure to check it out when you’re at the event at night!
Last but not least… let’s finish with this shot of the Calico and Ghost Town Railroad passing by the light fest of Jammin’ in the Dark, with the steam that changes colors multiple times a second 😛 – To conclude, make sure to check out this event. It’s another one of those Knott’s events that literally only Knott’s Berry Farm can pull off. It’s unique, different, affordable, and fun for pretty much anyone as there’s a lot of food, high-end wine, lots of entertainment for each age group, and of course world-class rides all around the park. For a fun Spring atmosphere, you visit this event. Which runs daily through April 3rd!
Thank you for checking out this Boysenberry Festival overview, it truly is a wonderful event! Make sure to check out the Knott’s Berry Farm Park Update from that day as well! Also check out:
Leave a comment with your thoughts below, and make sure to follow us on our social media for exclusive coverage! Facebook–Twitter–Instagram