12 Dance Of The Moonlight Jellies

Our wooden spoon entry will be no surprise to those who have attended all the Stardew events on the roster. Don't get me wrong, the first time you attend the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies festival and watch the Jellyfish with the rest of the town is a nice moment, but outside of that, there is nothing of value to be gained from this festival, at least from a gameplay perspective.

Sure, there is a shop where you can get some cute decorative items, and some Seafoam Pudding if you're feeling peckish. But it's not enough to make this a festival you attend more than once for the novelty of seeing all the festivals in the game. But when year two rolls around, you should definitely skip this one, because it's just a waste of time that could be spent actually progressing and optimizing your farm.

11 Festival Of Ice

Thanks to the 1.6 update, there are now quite a few fishing-related festivals in the game, but for the longest time, there was just one, and it was incredibly lackluster, to say the least. This one sees you compete in a timed fishing competition with other members of the town, and it's laughably easy to come out on top, as you only need to catch five fish to guarantee victory.

The only reason this festival isn't occupying the bottom spot is that if you win, you get a unique Sailor's Cap and some decent fishing items that, while unremarkable, are at least somewhat useful. Plus, in the shop, you can purchase one of the Rarecrow in the game, some decent food items, and Tree of the Winter Star if you want to make your home feel a little festive. It's probably not a festival I would attend yearly, but it's still worth seeing at least once.

10 Spirit's Eve

There's a spooky chill in the air, and that can only mean one thing. Spirit's Eve! When it comes to spectacles, this festival has it all going on. The decor is hauntingly good, you'll be able to peruse the festival shop and purchase the Witch Rarecrow along with a variety of creepy decorations, and there's a haunted maze that you'll need to navigate to find a special prize at the end. Spoilers: it's a Golden Pumpkin, which can be sold for a high price or kept to serve as a snazzy little decoration if you prefer.

However, the reason why this festival finds itself down the pecking order is because after you have attended in year one, there's no real reason to come again. Sure, you'll get a Prize Ticket for solving the maze again, but outside of that, the event never changes, and the novelty wears off. So, as a one-time event, it's a strong one, but it loses its appeal pretty quickly.

9 Feast Of The Winter Star

The Feast of the Winter Star is supposed to be about family, friendship, and good cheer. But, let's face it, it's all about the presents, right? In Stardew Valley, the town all get together for a big ol' winter feast, and alongside this feast, you'll get to play a town-wide game of Secret Santa, which allows you to give a gift to a random villager to raise your friendship level, and also, you'll get a random gift in return.

This means that there is a reason to attend every year to win friends and get goodies in return, but the reason why this festival finds itself around the middle of the pack is because most of these gifts are pretty lame by the time you are a year into the game. The only exception is the super rare Tea Set, which may motivate some to keep attending this festival year after year, but before long, we reckon you'll opt to do something productive rather than attending this festival. That's not very festive, but hey, it's what pays the bills!

8 Flower Dance

Oh, the Flower Dance—how I remember the pain. This festival is a Stardew Valley tradition in which eligible bachelors pair up and perform a traditional dance in front of the rest of the town. It's like a debutante ball, with all the awkwardness that comes with that but without the rich, elitist vibes. In theory, it's a great way to earn friendship points with romanceable characters, but the heartache comes when you attend for the first year, and unless you happen to be super prepared or super lucky, you won't have the four hearts required to have anyone agree to dance with you.

This rejection is a rite of passage in Stardew Valley, but it's still a festival worth attending, as after a year, you'll likely have four-hearts with several characters, and if there is a romanceable character you really struggle to gather gifts for, then this can be a way to get another heart on the board with minimal effort. Plus, it allows you to effectively heal from the pain for your first Flower Dance. It's an iconic festival, a useful festival for gaining friendship points, and there's a Rarecrow in the shop, so all in all, it's a solid festival worth attending.

7 Trout Derby

Next, we have the first of the two new fish-related festivals added in the 1.6 update. The Trout Derby is a festival that takes a leaf out of Animal Crossing's book when it comes to fishing events and allows the player to catch fish in real time over the course of two normal days, and for every Rainbow Troutyou catch, you have a chance to earn a Golden Tag, which can be exchanged in the shop of prizes. These prizes include top-tier items like a Tent Kit, a snazzy Bucket Hat, and much more.

The fact that this festival doesn't impede your normal schedule is great, as all businesses and houses are open, and you can completely ignore this festival if you wish, but it's usually worth engaging with as the prizes remain useful throughout your playthrough. Plus, if you just want to dip your toe, so to speak, your Golden Tags carry over into next year's event. It's a massive improvement on the Festival of Ice, and a fun little festival that makes summer in Stardew Valley a little more exciting.

6 SquidFest

The Trout Festival is great, but we reckon that the SquidFest Festival just edges it by a smidge. In terms of how this works, the logistics are pretty much the same, but instead of Rainbow Trout, you'll be aiming to catch Squidat this winter event. However, the reason why we have this one listed a little higher than the Trout Festival is due to two factors.

Firstly, there is less RNG involved, as the prize tier system is governed by the quality of the fish you catch, meaning your haul is dictated by how skilled you are as a fisherman rather than by luck. Then secondly, the prizes are just much better as a whole, with cool items like the Squid Hat, The The Art O' Crabbing, and lots of Seafoam Pudding available for skilled Squid fishermen. Then, as soon as this one ends, the Night Market kicks off, so the fun never stops. So, in my humble opinion , this is the best Stardew fishing festival of the three.

5 Egg Festival

Much like the Flower Dance, the Egg Festival is an iconic event in Stardew Valley that often sets you up for disappointment. You see, the marquee event of this festival is the Egg Hunt, a timed mini-game where players need to search the town for hidden eggs, with the winner earning the grand prize. But, because you probably won't be able to plan a route to get enough eggs on the fly, this will lead to Abigailwinning the event, and from there, a bitter rivalry will form. The prize is only a Straw Hat, so you don't miss out on much, but it's the principle of the thing, and year two is set up for a glorious rematch.

This is enough to make this an exciting and fun festival to attend, but it's also a worthwhile endeavor as it's the only place where you will be able to purchase Strawberry Seeds, which are a great early game moneymaker. There are some cute seasonal decorations on offer too. After you beat Abigail, the appeal wears off slightly, but for those initial years alone, this one deserves a lot of praise.

4 Luau

Just before the podium places, we have the Luau, an event that takes place in summer and tasks the player with bringing along a special ingredient to add to the Pot Luck, which, if you aren't aware, is a big communal soup. On paper, this seems pretty dull as all you do here is pick one solitary item and see if the Governor likes it. Not to mention that the festival shop is pretty underwhelming, too. But the reason this one is a must-attend event every year is that, if you pick the right ingredient, you'll be able to gain up to 120 Friendship Points with all characters in the town.

This makes this festival an incredible way to progress your friendships with everyone at once. Plus, if you want to spice things up and be a little mischievous, you can add some questionable items in there to see what kind of trouble you can cause. All I'll say is that if you still happen to have Mayor Lewis' Purple Shorts, you might want to bring them along with you. Thank me later.

3 Stardew Valley Fair

With a lot of the festivals on this list, the events that make up the day tend to be pretty one-note. However, if you're looking for a festival that gives you a laundry list of fun little activities to try, then the Stardew Valley Fair is a brilliant event to attend. This festival is like a carnival, with pop-up stalls where you can play little mini-games to earn tokens, and then you can turn these tokens in for prizes, which include truly amazing items like a Stardrop, Prize Ticket, and the Studio Ghibli-inspired Rarecrow that looks like turnip-head from Howl's Moving Castle.

It can take a long time to accrue the number of tokens needed to get all these luxury items, but that's where the Fair Display comes in. You'll be tasked with bringing along up to 9x items that represent your best produce, with quantity, quality, and item variety factoring into the scoring, and if you manage to win, you'll gain 1,000 tokens to spend there and then.

It's easily the most fleshed-out festival that has been in the game right from the beginning and an absolute blast to attend. However, after a few years, you'll have all the items and no reason to attend, which stops this one from being crowned the best festival of all.