Highlights
- Stardew Valley's annual festivals offer unique traditions, activities, and rewards, creating a vibrant town culture.
- From romantic dances to fishing contests, each festival has its own charm and ways to connect with villagers.
- Take advantage of festival shops for seasonal items and exclusive gifts to enhance your gameplay experience in Stardew Valley.
There is so much community spirit and cultural vitality in Stardew Valley that it can be hard to keep up. But, some of the most important cultural traditions of this small but mighty town are the annual festivals, which range from yearly competitions to large feasts.
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Outside their special interests, there are a ton of gifts that still earn you some sweet friendship points in Stardew Valley.Each of the annual festivals of Stardew Valley has its own traditions, celebrations, and activities. Many of them also come with seasonal shops and things to see. Here are all the annual festivals in Stardew Valley, ranked.
Updated April 2, 2024, By John Wildermuth: With the 1.6 update of Stardew Valley, there are three new events and seasonal festivals added to the game. These new additions take place across various areas in Pelican Town and Calico Desert, and offer new rewards and gameplay features. We have updated this list to include all the new festivals and annual events that are available in Stardew Valley, including their various rewards.
12 Flower Dance
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Spring 24 |
Cindersap Forest |
9 AM to 2 PM |
|
Remember when you'd go to a school dance and awkwardly stand on one side of the room with your friends while your crush giggled with their friends on the other side? Did you have some parent chaperones hanging around, making things extra awkward while they showered you with enthusiasm?
If you'd like to relive that experience, the Stardew Valley Flower Dance is for you. This annual event takes place on Spring 24 every year, and the main feature is a romantic dance between the bachelors and bachelorettes of the town.
If you have a high enough friendship level with one of the marriage candidates, you can ask them to dance with you. In these cases, it's kind of cute. Otherwise, it's just awkward and the rejection makes you feel sad. At least the event shop has some fun stuff to purchase!
11 Festival of Ice
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Challenge Rewards |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Winter 8 |
Cindersap Forest |
9 AM to 2 PM |
These items can only be earned by getting first place in the fishing event:
|
|
Heading to the colder months, you'll find the Festival of Ice in the Cindersap Forest on Winter 8. This wintery event is a celebration of the season, with the villagers building snowpeople, igloos, and ice sculptures. While you're here, you can take part in the annual Ice Fishing Contest.
The event organizers have created a large pond in the middle of the forest and stocked it with fish, and you can compete alongside Pam, Willy, and Elliott to see who can catch the most fish. If you win, you'll receive some fishing tackle and a new hat, or a prize ticket in subsequent years.
There is also a shop that Pierre runs at this festival, offering various winter-themed gifts.
10 Dance Of The Moonlight Jellies
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Summer 28 |
The Beach |
10 PM to 12 AM |
|
The end of summer is celebrated with a beautiful event in Stardew Valley. On Summer 28, head down to the beach after 10 p.m. and you'll be able to witness a truly spectacular phenomenon: the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.
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It's time to sprinkle some magic on your tools and kick farming up a notch.These sea creatures are attracted to a light on a small boat, coming close to shore and bring with them their ethereal glow. This event doesn't have much in the way of activities that you have to actively participate in like many other events. However, the jellyfish dance is very beautiful, and it's very nice to attend with your spouse, who will stand next to you during the cutscene.
Pierre also has a shop going at this event, though it has fewer items available than some other events.
9 Squidfest
|
Days and Season |
Location |
Time |
Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Winter 12 |
The Beach |
6:10 AM |
Catching 8 Squids:
|
|
Winter 13 |
The Beach |
6:10 AM |
Catching 10 Squids:
|
Squidfest is the first of two events focusing on the fishing skill, taking place over two days. Located at the beach during the 12th and 13th of Winter, this event will task you with catching a large amount of squid each day in exchange for rewards.
While this sounds simple, squids are one of the tougher fish in the game to catch, so we recommend bringing a bait maker and trap bobbers to make it significantly easier to catch these aquatic animals. You will need to catch eight squids on the first day of the event and ten squids on the second day to earn all the rewards.
8 Night Market
|
Days And Season |
Location |
Time |
Decoration Boat |
Famous Painter Lupini |
Magic Shop Boat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Winter 15, 16, and 17 |
The Beach |
5 PM to 2 AM |
|
The following paintings are all 1,200g:
|
|
Also located at the beach is the annual Night Market, which takes place over three nights of winter, from Winter 15 to Winter 17. You can visit the market any time after 5 p.m. while the festival is active.
This event is more of a shopping experience, with a few different merchants available with a diverse array of wares for you to browse. There is also a submarine ride where you can catch special fish, a desert trader who will give you a free cup of coffee, and a mermaid who performs for you.
The Night Market is a great experience for those looking to shop, as the different merchants all have great stuff on offer. The traveling merchant will also make an appearance each night of the festival, offering you three chances to purchase some of her random wares.
7 Egg Festival
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Spring 13 |
Pelican Town |
9 AM to 2 PM |
|
The Egg Festival, which takes place on Spring 13, is the first event you'll experience in a playthrough of Stardew Valley, as it's the first to take place in the year. If it's your first year, this may be the first time you meet some of the residents of Pelican Town.
It's important to take advantage of everyone being in one place during all the annual events, as you can earn some friendship points with everyone very easily. Pierre will run a shop at this event, too, and it's more vital than other events, as this is the only place you can find Strawberry Seeds for sale. These berries are a profitable crop, so you'll want to try and grab some at the event.
Following the social aspect, you'll be able to participate in an egg hunt. This is a brutal activity, as you'll have to haul your butt to win. The other participants, especially Abigail, really put up some tough competition. If you win, you'll get a hat the first time, and a prize token in subsequent years.
6 Trout Derby
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Summer 20 and 21 |
Cindersap Forest |
6:10 AM to 2:00 AM |
Each Golden Ticket will earn you one of these random rewards:
|
Similar to the other fishing event, the Trout Derby is a two-day fishing competition that requires you to fish for Rainbow Trout with special golden tickets. These Rainbow Trout can only be caught during the festival, and will always be available no matter the weather, but not every trout will have a golden ticket.
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Stardew Valley's farmers need to be prepared for all sorts of weather, especially since most of them come with unique effects.To increase your chances of getting a golden ticket, we recommend using the bait maker to turn any Rainbow Trout you have caught into Rainbow Trout bait, since you do not need to turn in these fish for prizes. If you have not exchanged any of your golden tickets for prizes on the first day, there is no need to worry, since the prize pool is the same on both days of the event.
5 Feast Of The Winter Star
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Winter 25 |
Pelican Town |
9 AM to 2 PM |
|
The Stardew Valley version of Christmas is called the Feast of the Winter Star, and it takes place on Winter 25 every year. There's a large feast, a seasonal shop, and a gift-giving ceremony. This gift-giving event takes the form of a Secret Santa-style exchange.
A week earlier, the mayor will assign you someone that you'll be the Secret Santa to, and you'll need to bring a gift for them to the event. Additionally, someone will be your secret gift-giver, meaning you'll receive a surprise present from one of the other characters.
Sometimes, you'll receive a less-than-stellar gift, depending on who your gift-giver is. However, it's still a very fun event, and it's a fun challenge to find the perfect thing for your giftee. Furthermore, If you talk to Willy during the event, he'll tell you the tale of the Winter Star.
4 Spirit's Eve
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fall 27 |
Pelican Town |
10 PM to 11:50 PM |
|
This event is the Stardew Valley version of Halloween, focused on everything orange, purple, and spooky. It takes place on Fall 27 every year, beginning at 10 pm in the center of town. As with most of the other events, a large feast has been prepared, and there are thematic sights and activities.
Halloween-themed decorations are everywhere, there's a small cage with some skeletons walking around, and the top portion of the area features a large maze created by the Wizard. If you manage to complete the maze, you'll find a chest with a Golden Pumpkin, which is a universally-loved gift.
In the maze, you'll see some of the villagers, and speaking with them provides some funny dialogue. Pierre, as per usual, has a seasonal shop here as well.
3 Luau
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Summer 11 |
The Beach |
9 AM to 2 PM |
|
Most of the annual events have a large feast, but the Luau, which takes place on Summer 11, lets you actually participate in preparing the food. The main focus of this event is a large communal potluck soup, and everyone brings an ingredient to add.
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As usual, Pierre will have a themed shop here. This one allows you to purchase some really nice plants for your home. This event has some of the best feelings of community due to the potluck, and it serves as a nice, warm celebration of summer.
2 Desert Festival
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Permanent Shop |
Rotating Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Spring 15, 16, or 17 |
Calico Desert |
10 AM to 12 PM |
|
|
The Desert Festival is another three-day event in Stardew Valley, offering you a massive amount of content and rewards for completing quests, so long as you have unlocked the Calico Desert by fixing the bus. Specifically, the core gameplay of this festival is to earn Calico Eggs, a limited-time festival currency, by completing different quests and exploring the Skull Cavern.
Not only is there a permanent and rotating merchant available during the entire festival, randomized villagers will also offer incredibly rare items at their shops, which change each day of the festival. Finally, you can always earn a free cactus from a trader at the very bottom of the festival, as well as three fresh outfits from Emily's clothing booth.
1 Stardew Valley Fair
|
Day and Season |
Location |
Time |
Shop Items |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fall 16 |
Pelican Town |
9 AM to 3 PM |
|
At its core, Stardew Valley is a game about farming. You can take your farm in whatever direction you choose, whether it be growing crops, raising animals, producing artisan goods, or many more options. It stands to reason, then, that the Stardew Valley Fair on Fall 16 is the best event for your character to attend, since it lets you show off your hard work.
At the Fair, you'll be given a display box where you can show off some of the items you've produced or found throughout your time on the farm. You'll earn some Star Tokens based on how good your display is, which can be exchanged in the shop (most notably for a Stardrop). There are some other minigames you can play too, but the grange display is the real attraction here.
It can be challenging to win the grange display contest, but it's a fun challenge. Plus, it arguably fits the theme of this game better than any other event: farming, success, and community.
