Stardew Valley created by ConcernedApe.
Images used for educational purposes only.
Main Walkthrough

Festival! Arguably the most important day of the year in Stardew Valley, the Stardew Valley Fair is equal parts extravaganza and showcase. The residents of the Valley gather for a day of merriment and fun, as well as more than a few chances to win big. That’s where you come in.

Unlike some of the other festivals, which are more about spectacle than substance, the Stardew Valley Fair is relatively functional. There are lots of things to see and do, and most of them are in the service of winning prizes. We’ll take a look at what you can win at the end of the article. For now, the events!

The Stardew Valley Fair takes place on the 16th of Fall each year, and you'll receive two warnings that it's coming - one a week in advance, one the day before - via mail. The main attraction of the Stardew Valley Fair is a showcase of nine of your best items, aside from equipment, and you'll want to spend at least that week scraping together the best display you can.


Strength Tester

Right near the entrance of the Fair grounds you’ll find a buff dude with a strength-testing machine. Stand on the red arrow, then bash the grey button in time with the rising and falling red meter on your right. Depending on your timing you’ll be given a strength rating. You can win a Star Token if you manage to peg the meter as it’s hitting the top. 

Hitting the button between the second and third notches from the top will usually get you a win. Easy enough once you have the timing down, but not a great way to get Star Tokens.



Slingshot

For 50 gold you can test your skill on the slingshot game, just south of the strength tester. This is a simple marksmen game where you need to peg bullseyes with a slingshot. You’ll get one point for a red bullseye, two points for a blue bullseye, and five points for a purple bullseye. It’s a much better way to earn Star Tokens if you have quick reflexes and good aim, as you get multipliers to your score if you’re accurate. 

The controls on this game are a bit wonky - you aim in the opposite direction of where you want to shoot - so you might need a few rounds of practice. I highly, highly recommend playing the slingshot game in full screen.



Fishing

Good at fishing normally? You’ll probably like the tent south of the slingshot game. Here you can pay 50 gold to fish out of a pool for one minute and forty seconds. It’s exactly the same as normal fishing, though the fish here are relatively sedate compared to some of the ones in the wild. If you’ve been developing your Fishing Skill you can rake in Star Tokens fairly quickly. Bonus points for not losing a fish in the process. (Alas, you don’t get to keep your catch after the game is done.)

Be sure to fish until the very last second in this game. The timer runs out at zero, obviously, but if you have a fish on the line the game won’t end until you either catch or lose the fish.


Betting Wheel

Near the middle of the Festival you’ll find a wheel where you can bet as many Star Tokens as you like on a fifty-fifty, double-or-nothing spin of the wheel. Good for gamblers, not so good for predictable wins.

Having played this game at length, during several festivals, and based on some of the comments, I honestly think you're more likely to win if you pick green over orange. I'd say I won three times out of four whenever I chose green, and I must have played it for half an hour. Not sure if this is pure superstition or some quirk of the programming, however.


Fortune Teller

In the cemetery you’ll find a Fortune Teller who will predict your future for 100 gold. Her predictions are based on a combination of your Skills, your regular activities, and with whom you have the best relationships. A good gauge of how you’re doing in some respects, but not worth the money most of the time.


Star Token Sale

If you can’t be bothered with playing the games, you can also purchase Star Tokens from the guy in blue. They go at a rate of one Star Token for 50 gold. Good if you have way too much money.


Grange Display

The meat and potatoes of the Festival is the Grange Display. There’s an open stall beside Pierre’s in the north of the fairgrounds, and you can use this stall to showcase nine of your best items. Speak to Mayor Lewis after setting up and he’ll have a walk around the fairgrounds, looking at everybody’s stalls. The displays that impress him most will win Star Tokens:
  • First Place: 1,000 Star Tokens
  • Second Place: 500 Star Tokens
  • Third Place: 200 Star Tokens
  • Fourth Place: 50 Star Tokens
Grange Displays are judged on a combination of quality and diversity. You can put whatever items you like on display, but they should ideally be high-level (silver or gold star, if applicable), relatively rare (Artifacts and valuable Minerals are useful), and different (as in, don’t display two of the same thing if you can help it).

Don’t forget to grab your items again after the event is over. Just saying. 

Prizes

Now for the fruits of your labour. All of the Star Tokens you’ve been collecting throughout the day can be exchanged for prizes at the tent near the entrance of Pelican Town. You can get the following prizes here:
  • Dried Sunflowers - 100 Star Tokens
  • Fedora - 500 Star Tokens
  • Rarecrow - 800 Star Tokens
  • Stardrop - 2,000 Star Tokens
All done with the Fair? Head back towards your house. You’ll get a warning that the Fair will end once you leave the screen, and when you arrive back home it will be 10 pm. Sweet dreams!

Main Walkthrough