On Sunday, April 6, 2025, Knott’s Berry Farm will be hosting a book signing for Knott’s Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction. This book signing will be from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at the Bear-y Tales Factory store. Copies of this book will be for sale at the event. Chris Crump, Christopher Merrit, and J. Eric Lynxwiler will all be on hand for this event.
Knott’s Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction was written by Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler. It has 350 pages and over 1,000 images. For those who can’t attend the signing at Knott’s Berry Farm, the book is on sale here.
About Knott’s Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction
Designer and artist Rolly Crump found his way to Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California at the invitation of Marion Knott in 1974. This book is her story as well as his. Knott was the first female creative executive of an American theme park, built by her father and mother decades before. Crump was escaping the shadow of his previous employer and looking for an opportunity to spread his wings as a designer. Together these unlikely friends developed and organized a crew of talented artists to build a wild dark ride unlike anything seen (or smelled) before — Knott’s Bear-y Tales! This is the first book to ever tackle the subject, through the interviews and artwork of those who were there.
About Christopher Merritt
Southern California native, Christopher Merritt, has over 30 years of ride and show design experience, creating theme park attractions and environments around the world. He has served as an Art Director and Production Designer at theme parks located in California, Florida, Tokyo, Singapore, and Shanghai. In 2010, with Eric Lynxwiler, Merritt’s Knott’s Berry Farm history book, Knott’s Preserved, was published to critical acclaim. Four years later, Merritt released Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier, with co-author Domenic Priore. After five years of research and design, co-authoring with Pete Docter, the coffee table book Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks was released in 2019. Merritt currently lives in Southern California.
About J. Eric Lynxwiler
Urban Anthropologist J. Eric Lynxwiler is a Knott’s Berry Farm historian and a co-author of Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, The History of Knott’s Berry Farm, with Chris Merritt. While attending UCLA, he spent one school year behind the counter of Knott’s original, electric shooting gallery and works today as a graphic designer on Farm signage, merchandise, and the series of Knott’s Berry Market preserves. Lynxwiler has been a volunteer and Neon Cruise guide for the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California, for 25 years. He has also co-authored books on the history of neon signs in Los Angeles and the history of Wilshire Boulevard for Angel City Press. Lynxwiler currently lives 20.9 miles from Knott’s.
Merritt and Lynxwiler also wrote Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, The History of Knott’s Berry Farm, which came out in 2010. This is the definitive history book on Knott’s Berry Farm.
What do you think of this event? Will you be attending? What do you think of this book? Are you going to add it to your collection? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
