With California’s largest theme parks closed indefinitely due to the pandemic, Knott’s Berry Farm is reimagining its popular annual springtime Boysenberry Festival as a standalone food fest.
Starting Friday, Knott’s fans will be able to indulge in a wide variety of boysenberry-inspired foods and beverages: like savory dishes such as beer cheese soup with a boysenberry drizzle, and boysenberry BBQ carne asada pizza garnished with cilantro and onions; and drinks including boysenberry lemonade with basil, a boysenberry ICEE float with vanilla soft serve, and boysenberry wine and beer.
In all, the lineup at the Taste of Boysenberry Festival includes more than 80 boysenberry-infused items, according to a February news release from Knott’s.
Along with the tasty treats, visitors can shop a variety of boysenberry-themed merchandise, everything from apparel and kitchenware, to — naturally — take-home sweets.
The event, held inside the theme park in Buena Park, begins on March 5 and runs on select dates through May 2.
Tickets for those ages 12 and up are $45 plus tax and include five food tastings; for those 3 to 11 years older, tickets cost $20 plus tax and include three food tastings.
Knott’s 2020 and 2021 season passholders can buy tickets starting Tuesday, while everyone else can purchase them beginning Feb. 16. Tickets must be bought in advance at knotts.com or through the Knott’s Berry Farm mobile app.
The Taste of Boysenberry Festival is the latest event to take place at Knott’s as theme parks wait to get word from the state on when they can safely reopen. All major theme parks in California have been shut down since last March, when the state and local counties instituted the first in a series of stay-at-home measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
As with the other events, the boysenberry festival will be conducted with COVID-19 health and safety measures in place, including capacity limits and physical distancing. Masks are also required except while sitting down to eat or drink, and guests will have to undergo a temperature check at the main gate before entering.
Full details about the Taste of Boysenberry Festival can be found here.
Correction: A previous version of this story had the incorrect starting date in the headline. This post has been updated.