For us, Festivals are one of the best features in Stardew Valley. They’re fun events that happen all year round, featuring quests to complete, new NPC’s to talk to, mini games to take part in and even shops selling exclusive loot. They’re great fun to attend, but more importantly they add atmosphere to the world, making it feel like a living and breathing land. Today we’ve chosen to highlight five of our favourite, but there are countless more that each come with their own theme and feel. We usually like to rank things around here, but the following are in no particular order, ’cause we love them all equally!
5. Luau
The Luau is a festival that takes place on 11th of Summer every year. As you can see it’s based at the beach, and it can be attended between 9am and 2pm. You’ll note that most villagers tend to come and visit this one, which adds to the feeling of togetherness that a Luau should have, and each of them have unique dialogue that you can only experience whilst you’re here. The main event is the Potluck Soup that takes pride of place in the centre. Players can choose which ingredient to add to this soup prior to the Governor tasting it, producing some hilarious results. It’s worth noting however that the festival will end as soon as the soup is tasted.
Festival Highlights
- Takes place on 11th Summer, between 9am and 2pm.
- The item you choose to add to the soup will change the reaction. Try something like Lewis’ Pants!
- If you choose to put a High Quality item into the soup, you’ll gain friendship points with every villager.
- Check all of the villagers for some great dialogue.
- Grab some cool furniture for your house from the shop whilst you’re there!
- It’s a beach party, what’s not to like!?
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4. The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies
Possibly the most atmospheric festival, the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies occurs on the 28th of Summer. This also takes place at the beach, however it will not commence until 10pm and the beach itself cannot be accessed until this time. Once again you can speak to the villagers that attend to get some specific dialogue, and your partner will even attend with you. Speaking to Lewis will trigger the main event, which is the cutscene that shows the Jellies themselves moving.
Festival Highlights
- Very atmospheric, visually stunning treat.
- Wonderful individual music.
- Heralds Summer coming to an end.
- Keep an eye out for the Green Jelly!
- You can grab some great decorations from the shop added in patch 1.5!
3. Spirit’s Eve
Third on our festival list is Spirit’s Eve. This takes place on the 27th of Fall every year and can be found directly within the town itself, though this does mean that the usual town cannot be accessed until 10pm. Much like the Slimes above we love this one because it feels so atmospheric, and despite the lack of cutscene it’s still a fun place just to wander around. The main event for us has to be the maze, which is located north of the shop. Traversing the maze will net you a Golden Pumpkin, which can function as either a gift, house decoration or simply sold for some extra gold. The absolute best part however, has to be the villager conversations, especially those currently attempting the maze alongside you!
Festival Highlights
- The Haunted Maze is great fun, with loot at the end!
- Villager conversations, especially within the maze, are great fun.
- You can buy housing decorations from the shop here!
2. Night Market
The penultimate festival in our list is the Night Market. Unlike the others in our list, this one actually takes place over the course of three days, the 15th to 17th of Winter. It is held at the beach, and is active between the hours of 5pm and 2am. The beach itself can still be accessed prior to the event, however it’s worth noting that any crab pots there will disappear until the 18th.
We love the Night Market because of the sheer amount of content on offer. Not only are there numerous shops available to buy from, but you can also grab yourself some paintings, watch a mermaid show, head out on a submarine ride and even get yourself some free coffee every day from the desert trader! The Gypsy Cart even makes an appearance! On top of this the festival will feature different villagers on each night, making it feel like a living and breathing event rather than a static, singular feature.
Festival Highlights
- Great assortment of shops to buy new loot from.
- Submarine trip where you can catch some exclusive fish.
- Mermaid Show is fun and you can even win a prize.
- Lupini, the famous painter, sells you 9 possible paintings, though you can only get one per day. Be sure to check back each year to collect them all!
- Feels more alive than any other festival!
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1. Feast of the Winterstar
Finally we come to our final festival choice, the Feast of the Winterstar, which is the Stardew Valley version of Christmas. As you might imagine this takes place on 25th of Winter and lasts between the hours of 9am and 2pm within the town. One week before the festival players will receive a letter informing you of your ‘secret santa’ target, indicating that you can purchase a gift for a villager to gain a boost in friendship, which is certainly worth doing despite not being strictly required.
We love this festival because well, it’s Christmas! The sense of a whole community coming together to celebrate is something we really enjoy. Getting together around huge tables to share a meal embodies Stardew Valley for us, emphasising it’s feeling of belonging in a community. You’re not coming here to gather any epic loot, though you will receive a mystery gift yourself for the record, rather you’re here for the experience, to see and speak to everybody and celebrate seeing the year out.
Festival Highlights
- Wonderful celebratory atmosphere.
- You can both give and receive a secret Santa gift. You can get give some very rare items here.
- Speak to Willy the Fisherman to hear the tale of the Winterstar.
- Spot the funny references all over the place if you can!
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