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Historians Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler will discuss their new book, “Knott’s Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction”, at the January 2025 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society: Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. The story of this creative and well-remembered dark ride shines a light on a period of major change for Knott’s Berry Farm and for Orange County.Designer and artist Rolly Crump came to Knott’s Berry Farm at the invitation of Marion Knott — one of the first top woman executives in a major Orange County business and was the first female head of a great American theme park. Marion Knott’s parents, Walter and Cordelia, had founded Knott’s Berry Farm decades before. Crump – long known as a prominent Disney Imagineer — 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!
Christopher Merritt has more than thirty years of ride and show design experience, creating theme park attractions and environments around the world. He served as an Art Director and Production Designer at theme parks in California, Florida, Tokyo, Singapore, and Shanghai. His books include Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier (2014), with co-author Domenic Priore, and Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (2019) with Pete Docter.
J. Eric Lynxwiler is an urban anthropologist and Knott’s Berry Farm historian. While attending UCLA, he spent one school year behind the counter of Knott’s electric shooting gallery and works today as a graphic designer on Farm signage, merchandise, and Knott’s Berry Market preserves. Lynxwiler has been a volunteer and Neon Cruise guide for the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale for 25 years. He has also co-authored books on the history of neon signs in Los Angeles and the history of Wilshire Boulevard.
Together, Merritt and Lynxwiler also wrote the critically acclaimed, Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, The History of Knott’s Berry Farm (2010), which remains the leading book on the subject.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Trinity Episcopal Church, 1122 E Amber Ave, Orange, CA 92865-2931, United States,Orange, California
