Summary
- Stardew Valley's success lies in its charming portrayal of small-town life and engaging gameplay.
- The festivals add depth and fun to the game, offering unique events, interactions, and rewards.
- Developer ConcernedApe's dedication to updates keeps players entertained while working on new projects.
Stardew Valley is indisputably one of the most successful independent games of all time. This farming RPG has been so immensely popular that since its release on PC in 2016, it has been ported to almost all major gaming platforms. For those unfamiliar, Stardew Valley is a simulation role-playing game that has players take over their grandfather's farm in Pelican Town, located in Stardew Valley. Players can plant crops, purchase animals, forage, fish, and create produce, all while getting to know the endearing characters that live locally.
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There's a multitude of aspects that make Stardew Valley so addictive and enticing, namely its charming portrayal of small-town life. Players can interact with locals to increase their hearts, thereby unlocking special cutscenes that are unique to each character. They can choose to marry someone they've grown close to, as well as have children with said partner. Another huge appeal of the game is the adorable festivals that take place every year. There are nine in total, and these delightful events can offer special dialogue, mini-games, and cool new items.
Updated March 24, 2024, by Alexandra O'Leary: Stardew Valley's 1.6 update has become one of the most anticipated drops from the game since its creation. What began as a regular update grew into a content-heavy release that has added all sorts of new experiences and events to Stardew Valley.
But why did a routine update turn into such a huge content drop? When developer ConcernedApe started development of a new game named Haunted Chocolatier, which he stated would now take priority over Stardew Valley, most players accepted they would only get maintenance updates until the new game was ready for release. Since ConcernedApe would be dedicating most of his time to Haunted Chocolatier, this update grew into the last big content drop for a while - as a way to keep players entertained while CA was away. With all sorts of secrets, dialogue, and festivals added, Stardew Valley 1.6 is sure to keep gamers occupied.
12 SquidFest - 12th & 13th Of Winter
Squid Catching Free-For-All
SquidFest is a small-scale festival added to Stardew Valley in the 1.6 update. Unlike most festivals, it goes on throughout the day, and players can enter and leave the area without ending the event - which means players have to complete all their pressing farming tasks each day. It takes place during the Winter, on the beach at the very bottom of the map.
SquidFest, unsurprisingly, centers around the player catching lots of Squid and exchanging them for prizes. Players will have to catch a certain number of 
Squid that are of a specific quality, and then they can exchange them for a random reward. It's perfect for players who love whittling away their days fishing, but there's not much else going on for those who get bored after a while.
11 Feast Of The Winter Star - 25th Of Winter
'Tis the Season for Gift Exchanging
Feast of the Winter Star is Stardew Valley's version of Christmas, and the main event of this festival is the gift-giving portion. Although players can purchase Christmas items in Pierre's booth - like a tree of the winter star, or a winter banner - there are no mini-games featured.
However, it is the only festival with a gift-giving event, in which players will be assigned a random villager a week before. Players should seek out their villager and attempt to discover one of their likes or loves. Friendship points can be gained by giving a good gift, and they're worth 5x more than usual, so getting a good gift is really worth it for any players who want good connections with the townsfolk.
10 Luau - 11th Of Summer
Beach-Based Broth Brewing
The Luau takes place on the beach when The 
Governor comes to Pelican Town for the annual potluck. Mayor Lewis will tell players the day before the event that it is a communal potluck, so everyone in the town should contribute one ingredient - including players.
The Luau potluck can be tricky since there are six different outcomes possible. The difficult part is that players need to have whatever they want to add already in their inventory since the game won't let players return to their farms once the festival has started. Players should try their best to put high-quality, fancy ingredients into the potluck and can figure out via trial and error what's best.
9 Festival Of Ice - 8th Of Winter
Freezing Fishing
The Festival of Ice is another annual Winter event that takes place in Cindersnap Forest. During this event, the forest will appear snowy and icy, with the townspeople building snowmen and igloos. Once again, Christmas decorations can be purchased from Pierre's booth, including a rarecrow.
The main draw of this festival is the ice fishing competition, in which players can go up against various villagers - including the local fisherman. Players must catch a minimum of five fish during the allotted time, otherwise, Willy will win the competition and players will have to wait until next year to try and beat him.
8 Flower Dance - 24th Of Spring
Pleasant Partner Bonding
The Flower Dance takes place in an area of Cindersnap Forest that is only reachable during this festival. It is a highly anticipated event in Pelican Town, where the younger townspeople all participate in a traditional dance. The items available to buy during this event are not particularly unique, apart from one of the exclusive rarecrows, but the real draw of this festival is the chance to score a dance with one of the bachelors or bachelorettes.
For any players trying to romance one of the available Stardew Valley characters, the Flower Dance is very important. At the end of a conversation with a participant, there is an option to ask them to dance. That means anybody looking to romance one of the twelve single characters will want to be present. The prerequisite is that players must already have four hearts with their prospective dance partner, otherwise, they will be rejected. However, if the dancer accepts the offer, their relationship will increase by a whole heart.
7 Trout Derby - 20th & 21st Of Summer
Fish For Prizes
The Trout Derby was introduced in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, and is another brilliant festival for fishing fans. Every day, from 6am until 2am the next morning, players can run down to Cindersnap Forest and compete against the best of the best in a fishing face-off. During this time, players can fish for 
Rainbow Trout in the river, but the main goal is to stumble across a Golden Tag, which can be traded in for prizes.
This festival behaves a little differently to other ones, because players do not 'activate' the festival by walking into the area. Rather, players are free to come and go during the Trout Derby, and can return at any point in the day to take part in the fishing. This also means the shops in Pelican Town stay open, and all the usual farming must be completed - notably feeding animals. Trading in a Golden Tag will guarantee players win a Tent Kit, and prizes include a Bucket Hat, geodes, sprinklers and more.
6 Spirit's Eve - 27th Of Fall
Spooky Festivities
Spirit's Eve takes place in Pelican Town Square. Pierre's seasonal booth offers delightful spooky decorations, including another rarecrow. The town will be decked out in Spirit's Eve-themed tables, as well as Skeletons which can be viewed walking around a cage.
The main event of this festival is the haunted maze, which has allegedly been designed by the mysterious wizard. Players can make their way through, stopping to speak to the different townspeople who have either been scared stiff or gotten lost. When players do eventually reach the middle of the maze, they will be rewarded with a golden pumpkin which is very valuable. It can either be sold for 2,500g, given to any player for hearts since it is universally loved or be made into a witch's hat using a sewing machine.
5 Dance Of The Moonlight Jellies - 28th Of Summer
A Captivating Natural Phenomenon
The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies is another festival that doesn't feature any mini-games or player-participant events. However, it is one of the most endearing and tranquil events that takes place each year. It happens on the docks, by Willy's house.
Everyone in Pelican Town gathers annually to see the entrancing jellyfish migration, which are drawn to the town by all the lights scattered along the docks. Pierre's booth sells some of the coolest items available, including an adorable moonlight jellies banner and cloud decals. The event portion is watching Mayor Lewis light more lanterns and seeing the jellyfish swim by, which is a touching and magical moment.
4 Night Market - 15th-17th Of Winter
Beautiful And Varied Market
The Night Market is the only Stardew Valley festival that takes place across more than one day. It is also the third festival that happens during the Winter, which is the only season to have more than two festivals. The Night Market is located at the docks and features an eclectic band of traveling merchants who stop by the town to share their wares.
There are eight different merchants, four of which sell various items and three that offer unique interactions. Namely, players can enter the Mermaid Boat to watch a performance and unlock a secret prize, or speak to the Desert Trader for a free cup of coffee. This festival has a plethora of fun experiences and the items available can differ based on the year and day, which keeps it fresh.
3 Egg Festival - 13th Of Spring
Intense Egg Hunting
The Egg Festival takes place every year in Pelican Town proper. This fun little festival features great items in the shop, including strawberry seeds which sell for a high price once grown. The main draw of this festival, however, is the egg hunt.
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Every year, players get to take part in the annual egg hunt. Players will have one minute to run around central Pelican Town to find eggs, a very fun - if stressful - experience. Other townspeople will be searching for the eggs too, and to win, players will have to collect nine (less in multiplayer). For their first win, players will receive a straw hat, and in subsequent years they will instead get 1,000g.