Knott's Peanuts Celebration 2023

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

It’s the second week of the Peanuts Celebration, and we’ve got a big update today on the festivities for Knott’s tribute to all things Peanuts. It’s been five years now since this even premiered, taking its place as the kickoff event of Knott’s Seasons of Fun. Though not as grand as the Boysenberry Festival, Knott’s Scary Farm, or Knott’s Merry Farm, the Peanuts Festival is still a charming and enjoyable family-friendly event, with activities, special food items, and shows all featuring and/or inspired by Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and friends. Running now through February 26th, it’s back with a mix of new features and familiar offerings, so lets check out what this year’s fun is all about!

Guests arriving at the front gates of Knott’s Berry Farm will recognize a familiar entrance area, with a series of photo ops featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock. They’re the same as from years before, but they’re still fun. To the side, near the exit, a large merchandise booth themed to Lucy’s psychiatrist booth offers this year’s Peanuts Celebration merchandise.

There’s a new shirt and new ballpark cap for the 2023 Peanuts Celebration, not to mention a tumbler and Snoopy plush. They’re sold in many locations throughout the park, though the front booth is one’s first and last chance to get something. We also spotted a cute Peanuts umbrella that definitely would have been useful during the bountiful rains we got over the holidays. But even with dry weather, the umbrella can serve as a nifty parasol for guests looking to escape the sun!

Similar to other seasonal events, Knott’s has curated a special menu inspired by the Peanuts. Guests can purchase various dishes throughout the park, with some items repeated across multiple location. Here’s a list of dishes and locations we were provided on our visit last weekend:

Wagon Wheel Pizza

Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeño Double Stuffed Baked Potato
Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeño Pizza with Cilantro

Calico Tater Bites

Pepperoni Pizza Tater Bites
Sweet Chili Tofu Tater Bites

Sutter’s Pizza (available Sat and Sun)

Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Sutter’s Grill

Chocolate, Bacon and Jam Cheeseburger

Wilderness Broiler

Thai Curry Fries with Chicken Peanut Satay
Mac and Cheese Bites (while quantities last)

Strictly-on-a-Stick (available select days)

Buffalo Chicken Crunch Sticks
Mac and Cheese Crunch Sticks

Prop Shop Pizzeria

Spicy Sausage and Bolognese Rigatoni
Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeño Pizza with Cilantro
Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Coasters Diner

Cubano Panini Burger
Avocado and Shrimp Citrus Salad

Boardwalk BBQ

Mashed Potato Casserole with Rotisserie Chicken
Sesame Peanut Green Beans with Tofu

Grizzly Creek

Chipotle Chicken Toastie Sandwich with Tomatoes
Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Unfortunately and perhaps due to poor selections or luck of the draw, we were not that impressed with the gourmet choices we had during our visit. The specialty dishes proved to be disappointing, especially in light of the gains Knott’s has made in recent years in its culinary advancement at events like the Boysenberry Festival and Knott’s Merry Farm.

The Mac and Cheese Bites we had at Wilderness Broiler were flavorless, with the Mac and Cheese fried dough having a bit of a residual cardboard aftertaste. While the fries were delicious, the dish felt somehow dry. The Thai Curry Fries with Chicken Peanut Satay was a little better, but the curry and the peanut sauce felt watered down, and the chicken skewers tasted like processed chicken instead of fresh chicken breast.

Later in the day, we tried the Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeño Pizza with Cilantro, which sounded great on paper. Unfortunately, this continued a trend that we’ve experienced where Knott’s pizza quality just hasn’t been impressive at all. On paper, this pizza should have been delicious, but our order at Prop Shop Pizzeria featured sparse toppings, and the pizza slice looked and tasted like it had been sitting out for a while. The slice we had was at least more flavorful than the Mac and Cheese Bites, but it was still closer to stereotypical theme park food quality than food festival caliber. Though we didn’t have a chance to try it, the Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza did look tastier and less dry, and in retrospect, perhaps we should have chosen that.

We also had the Chocolate, Bacon and Jam Cheeseburger at Sutter’s Grill at the end of the day. It was the best item we had, and though not spectacular, was a solid burger with a nice sweet and savory mix with the bacon and jam and chocolate. But even this burger seemed to be thrown together will little regard to aesthetics and composition. Again, the fries were great, though!

We should also mentioned that the day we visited Knott’s, we met up with our friends Norm and Jeff from Horror Buzz, and Norm mentioned that the Sesame Peanut Green Beans with Tofu from Boardwalk BBQ was actually pretty tasty. So again, perhaps our selections just didn’t work out.

Beagle Bonanza on the Grand Sierra Railroad

While the nourishment left some to be desired, the Peanuts Celebration attractions were on point—whether they be the new shows and activities or returning favorite experiences. We couldn’t resist a ride aboard the Grand Sierra Railroad to experience Beagle Bonanza again—the great celebration featuring Snoopy and his family performing and the Peanuts gang on hand to cheer them on and enjoy their entertainment. This adorable overlay of the Camp Snoopy railroad ride is photogenic, whimsical, and features a cute story, and we love going on this year after year!

Camp Snoopy Meet & Greet

Camp Snoopy is also home to one of the Peanuts character meet-and-greets, over between the Flying Ace and the Grizzly Creek Lodge. The characters rotate, and we happened to draw Marcie again, who debuted last year.

Pigpen’s Pig Pen at Livery Stable

Another place to grab a photo with a Peanuts favorite is the Livery Stable, where Pigpen’s Pig Pen can be found. Similar to previous years, the livestock are an attraction—including a collection of adorable little piglets. And Pigpen has his own photo op in the corner as well!

“Peanuts on the Go” Cavalcade

Over in Charleston Circle, the “Peanuts on the Go” Cavalcade occurs several times a day. This mini-parade is a literal walking carousel of characters, allowing guests to snap pictures as the gang struts around the fountain to some fun fanfare.

To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA Exhibit

Back at Town Hall in Ghost Town, a new Peanuts exhibit is available for guests’ educational enjoyment. This one focuses on the Peanuts’ partnership with NASA during the space race, with Snoopy and Charlie Brown even finding themselves as monickers for some of the space craft that NASA sent out in their lunar exploration.

In addition, there’s also a Snoopy meet-and-greet here, and guests can get their photos taken with Snoopy in astronaut costume! The Snoopy was in civilian clothes on our first weekend, with his suit still being cleaned after his return from the moon (check out Snoopy in Space on Apple+ TV to make this scenario more tangible), but he should be in full space exploration garb starting this weekend.

Charlie Brown’s Trivia Challenge & Sketch School at Bird Cage Theatre

Nearby, the Bird Cage Theatre pulls double duty this year at the Peanuts Festival. New for half of the show times is Charlie Brown’s Trivia Challenge, where the audience literally plays along en masse to a collection of trivia questions about the Peanuts comics and shows. Some of the questions are easy, while others are more obscure, and some are even easy but specific. But it’s a fun experience, and the crowd seemed to be pretty energetic and into it when we stopped by.

Charlie Brown’s Trivia Challenge runs every other show, and the balance of the times at the Bird Cage are taken by the return of Sketch School, where guests can learn how to draw a Peanuts character from one of Knott’s gifted artists. We’ve done this wonderful activity before, sketching out folks like Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and PigPen in the past. Our schedule didn’t align this year, but this is still a welcome interactive activity at the Peanuts Celebration.

Peanuts’ Cowboy Jamboree

Speaking of interactive, the Peanuts Cowboy Jamboree offers a host of games geared toward the younger guests, featuring Linus and Franklin helping and cheering the park’s younger tyke guests along. When we swung by, children were competing to carry an egg on a wooden spoon around a stool and back without dropping it, and there are other games throughout the day as well.

This event appears in some of Knott’s other seasonal events in various forms, but it’s still a great way for kids to play with the Peanuts characters. And we even saw a familiar face who we’re more accustomed to greeting during Ghost Town Alive!

It wouldn’t be a Knott’s Seasons of Fun event without a plethora of shows, and the Peanuts Celebration has its share—nearly a half dozen of them, in fact!

Music Goes Round and Around

Over in Camp Snoopy, Music Goes Round and Round returns to the Camp Snoopy Theater. Schroeder teaches Sally about various genres of music and their history, just in time for her upcoming report, and they have assistance from Snoopy and the two hosts as well! This energetic show runs through swing, bluegrass, and rock ’n’ roll, and it also captures the heart and warmth of the Peanuts camraderie.

Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert with Jelly of the Month Club

The highlight of the entire event unfolds at the Calico Stage twice a night, though, with Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert. This is a reimagined version of the Woodstock’s Music Festival featuring Jelly of the Month Club that headlined the event at this location during prior years, but it has been jazzed up with more spectacular production values, a more overt storyline, and even more iterations of musical dog puns as Jelly of the Month Club return with Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and Schroeder!

As one might guess from the name, the inspiration of this show comes from the legendary Beatles rooftop show in 1969 that marked their final live performance together as a band ever. In this case, as explained in a little background video that begins about five minutes before showtime, after his countless adventures around the world Snoopy happened to meet and befriend the members of Jelly of the Month Club and became a rock star! But the glamorous music life wasn’t it for this beagle, who eventually became homesick. But before he returned, he and Jelly of the Month Club would put on the finale of finales with their own rooftop concert for the ages!

Guests who have loved the energy and nature of past Peanuts Celebration Jelly of the Month concerts will love this one, as it carries much of the same energy and comedy and silliness. There are multiple costume changes for Snoopy—each to match his own take on a legendary musical performer, and fun special guests too. Woodstock returns as an awesome background musician with delightfully Muppet-esque movements, but Snoopy’s brother, Spike, also makes a cameo as one of the punny musical artists featured!

And if you enjoy puns, there are plenty of them here. Sgt. Puppy’s Friendly Rooftop Band parodies the Beatles’ famous album and song. Jimi Houndrix kills on guitar. Bone-hemian Rhapsody is an ode to the famous Queen song, of course. The Blooz Beagles bring some added soul to the mix. Bird Cobain offers Woodstock a grungy time to shine, and he rocks it out of the park. Dog Marley brings some peace and love to the mix. And Rocketbeagle pays homage to the one and only Sir Elton John—who incidentally played his last North American touring show ever just a couple of months ago at Dodger Stadium! And there are more lyrical gags too!

Underlaid through the show is a secondary storyline involving Charlie Brown, who tries to show off his musical prowess but ends up hurting everyone’s ear drums. His attempts at mirroring Snoopy’s musical pizzazz and gain similar adoration go awry, ultimately resulting in more and more embarrassment until he finally can’t take it anymore and decides to give up. Fortunately, his friend rally around him to buoy his spirits and end the show on a high note. Literally and figuratively!

Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert is a fantastic hit and a must-see at the Peanuts Celebration. It only plays during the evening, with showtimes at 5:45 and 7:15 on the Saturday night we visited Knott’s. That does mean staying later for families who have kids and might be visiting during the daytime, but we think it’s worth it. The show is amusing for children who may not understand the references, and it’s nostalgic and smile-inducing for adults who will appreciate the nostalgia.

Other Shows

There is other entertainment that we didn’t get a chance to see during our visit this year, though we’ve featured them in past Peanuts Celebration posts.

It’s Your Life, Charlie Brown, is back for a second year at the Calico Mine Stage during the daytime. This campy 1960s style retrospective on everyone’s favorite lovable loser, Charlie Brown, features song and dance and lots of warm vibes.

During the evenings, James Street Trio offers smooth jazz tunes over at the Boardwalk BBQ dining area. Channeling their Vince Guaraldi Trio energy, they include beloved Peanuts themes for everyone’s listening enjoyment.

Over in the Wagon Camp, Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies entertain with their offbeat and physically and musically humorous brand of country and bluegrass songs. These former Disneyland favorites have found a great home at Knott’s over the past decade and have attracted quite a legion of fans and followers to the Berry Farm.

That wraps up our Peanuts Celebration coverage for 2023. The event runs daily, though the entertainment does vary during the weekdays. Check schedules in advance. There are four more weekends to enjoy this ode to the creations of Charles Schulz, so plan a visit this month! It’s certainly a Knott’s event we appreciate partaking every year!