Knott’s Berry Farm has a summer party offering that is a great way to have some chill nights this summer. Here’s why you should spend your nights there.
Food
Like so many of the Knott’s Berry Farm festivals, this event features some great food. Also like some of the other festivals is a tasting card that can let you sample a lot, or pick a couple of favorites and keep repeating.
The tasting card is $35 and available for purchase at multiple locations inside the park. It has 8 tabs that can be redeemed at 9 locations. Two of the locations are identical in that they serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Most of the food stands are located by the Calico Stage, which is also where much of the festivities take place.
Each stand has a bit of a food theme, but all have summertime tastes for the occasion. There are some great features like the skewers, flavored lemonade, and fish/shrimp tacos. These were some of the items that I sampled, but one that I didn’t taste and would recommend is the chili in a cornbread bowl. It is like a regular bread bowl chili, but Knott’s makes a great cornbread! The best use of a tab…or all of them…are the customized fudge-dipped apples. You get to choose two toppings and also have the option of caramel drizzle. It can be freshly made or choose from those already dipped. Another delectable dessert is the farm stand shortcake which is basically a strawberry shortcake and packed with fruit and cake!
Entertainment
There is great varied entertainment during Summer Nights. The night I went Hiatus was the “headliner” at the Calico Mine Stage. They’re a high energy cover band that had many on their feet and singing along. Anthony Rosales was the featured DJ at the top of the Surf Shop by Hang Time. He provided some great dancing time in between Hiatus sets. To round out the selection was Doug Legacy and the Zydeco Cajun Band at the Calico Park stage. I enjoyed that there was a variety of music that all fit the atmosphere.
The atmosphere itself was entertainment with a picnic bench set up around the Calico Mine Stage to make it feel like a summer bbq. There were fire pit barrels to sit by and even roast marshmallows for s’mores – available for purchase at stand B for about $7 a kit. There were glowing decorations around that brought the area to life at night.
One of the best features of the entertainment and atmosphere were a set of characters that are just for the Summer Nights occasion. Among them were Duncan Disorderly and Anita Drink who had some wild attire on for a great party. They all were helping guests get in the spirit of the night while having a great time themselves. It made it a unique experience that I’ve never had at Knott’s and was worth seeing alone.
Games
Some backyard games round out the whole event and all are free to play. They are outright known games or variations of common party games like Berry Pong where you toss a giant bouncing ball into big red cups that are several feet away. A hole in one golf game, Tiki Toss, and the characters even brought out a dice rolling contraption that looked like it was from the board game Sorry. Many occupied kids, but even the Tiki Toss challenged adults to get right.
Knott’s Summer Nights surprised me at how much of a great summer party it is. I thought it would be spread out and more of an overlay to existing attractions and food areas. Instead, this was a huge summer party that let any guest have a chill time with unique experiences. I would highly recommend not only going once but grabbing a Season Pass to keep going back and enjoying the backyard fill at an already fun park.
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