Make it a Date at Knott's Berry Farms Boysenberry Festival

We were invited to check out opening day at Knott's Berry Farm for their annual Boysenberry Festival, all opinions are my own.

Spring is here and with it comes that time of the year when Knott's Berry Farm celebrates a special little berry in a very big way. The Boysenberry Festival is in full swing and the perfect way to spend a day with friends, your spouse or even make a date out of it. With so many fabulously berry creations it's a perfect festival to attend in a small group to share and experience together.... take notes, get a game plan and divide and conquer is my suggestion. Check out what's new and farm fresh for this years festivities and just know that this is only for a limited time, the Boysenberry Festival ends April 23rd. 

Not all tasting cards are equal..... wait what?

Pick your poison or partake in both! Tasting cards are available for both food and "adult" beverages. Here's the breakdown. Along with the tasting card you can purchase for $25 that gets you a serving of 6 different boysenberry foods they also offer one for beer and wine at the same price! Oh yeah, so while you are exploring all the tasty stops for food you can get your drink on, after all you gotta have something to chase down all that berry food right? Adulting at it's finest I'd say.

Here is this years line up on the  $25 Food Tasting card and what you will get :

• Boysenberry BBQ Meatballs (3 to a skewer) 
• Boysenberry Fry Bread
• Boysenberry Buffalo Wings (4 to a basket)
• Boysenberry Ravioli (2 per serving)
• Boysenberry Panna Cotta
• Boysenberry Pizza (1 slice)

The Wine and Craft Brew tasting card is $25 and gets you 6 servings or either (or both) beer or wine, some boysenberry in nature of course, I think this is a steal of a deal. With 4 craft brews and 50 different wines to choose from, sharing is caring to get the most sampling in. Get your kicks at this grown up area in Ghost Town at the Wine and Craft Brew Garden. I stuck to one and went for the boysenberry beer. It was kinda a warm day and it went down nicely, liked it so much I had another, beyond that I have no comment.

So as you are sipping and munching and sipping some more there is a lot to see and do during this festival and many amazingly decadent foods that are not on the tasting card you will need, repeat need to get! My number one pick due to it's sheer size and awesomeness is the fun bun. Oh this one will definitely put you in a sugar coma but oh so worth the sacrifice. New this year is the Chocolate Covered Boysenberry Cheesecake on a stick, gotta love the convenience and portable nature of this sweetness. A tried and true park goers favorite is the Deep Fried Alligator and Fries with Boysenberry Aioli and is one not to be passed on.

By now you gotta be ready to get your jiggy on. Dance the night away (and all that food) to classic 80’s tunes in Cloud 9 Ballroom! The Boardwalk Ballroom has been sent back in time  featuring popular 1980’s radio disc jockeys as well as Knott’s resident disc jockey, DJ Howly playing the greatest hits from the greatest decade ever! Too "full" to dance catch the melodrama delights  at the Bird Cage Theatre with a boysenberry twist of course. And if that's not enough, there is always Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies perform their toe tappin’, knee-slappin’, side splittin’ country comedy show to get you clamoring for more!

VR Showdown in Ghost Town just opened and would be perfect after you have finished punching your tasting cards. This one-of-a-kind immersive experience perfectly combines virtual reality and competitive gaming elements. Armed with state-of-the-art wireless virtual reality headsets and futuristic blasters, multiple players will compete against one another for the highest score and bragging rights, as part of this immersive adventure, while striving toward shared team goals. At the end of the VR competition, guests can view and compare scores with their fellow opponents. Tow words....Game on!

There are plenty of kid friendly offerings BUT the thing is this is a very popular festival, the food (and drink) lines can get boring for kids who would much rather be on a ride or playing around. So I would say if you have kids bring them another time after you have done all the food and fun drinks. The Annual pass at Knott's is beyond cheap (under $16 bucks a month x 6 months, offer end 4/23). It's practically the cost of a full priced ticket at the gate. Grown ups can enjoy the park without kids, repeat! Baby steps guys, this is the perfect way for us parents to get over that parent guilt, you can do this!!! You single folks, oh your time will surely come to understand this.

Whew, hope you plan on getting the park early because there is a full days worth of fun and berryness to be had by all.