Stardew Valley Fair Guide

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Callum Marshall

Callum is the gaming managing editor and a certified Stardew Valley aficionado, pouring hundreds if not thousands of hours into this relaxing indie title. While overseeing the day-to-day running of the site, you'll commonly see Callum carve out some time to produce some content on one of his favorite games of all time, and lead from the front. Callum has been around the block within the gaming industry, working as an Editor-in-chief for a number of well-respected gaming outlets, he has worked as a games tester, he has gaming podcast experience, has worked in gaming PR. Basically, you name it, and Callum was probably there or somewhere on the periphery.

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Stardew Valley is best known for its representation of community spirit and its characters who make up the numbers in the quaint location of Pelican Town. Here you will find some of the most well-written characters to ever be rendered in a 16-bit art style, with unique stories to tell, some of which cover taboo and dark themes often avoided by game developers.

These stories help to give players a stronger connection to each Pelican Town resident, but the question remains, how does this game help the player become indoctrinated into this town’s community spirit. Well, you could argue that it’s through the player’s important and prestigious role as the town farmer, and others will argue that the player desires to repair the community center that represents this best.

However, we believe that through attending the varied Stardew Valley Town events, the player becomes a genuine part of the community.

Stardew Valley has a variety of events that players can attend. Some are seasonal and represent the holiday periods within each season, like Easter and Christmas. Others are based on Pelican Town traditions and offer equally fun ways to get involved.

However, one event that arguably stands above the rest is the Stardew Valley Fair. This event requires the player to plan ahead to succeed, is a good indicator of your farming progress within the game to date and, you can also get your hands on some pretty interesting stuff too.

With that in mind, we thought it would be best to give you a full rundown of the event, guiding you through this event and allowing you to get the most out of this Stardew celebration. So without further delay, here is our Stardew Valley Fair guide.

What Is The Stardew Valley Fair?

Date of event: 16th of Fall

Time of Event: 9am – 3pm

The Stardew Valley Fair is exactly what you would expect when you hear the term ‘fair.’ It is a fun social gathering that takes place within Pelican Town Square. Here, you will find a wide array of fun attractions where you can play carnival-style mini-games, all in the hope of earning Star Tokens.

However, this is not the star of the show, as the player will be invited to take part in the Stardew Valley Grange Display. This is a competition within this event where the player will have to display nine items on display that represent their best-farmed goods, mixing crops, artisan goods, fish, forage, and all other categories of items for best results.

The player doesn’t have to participate in this event, but even through participation, the player will be awarded some Star Tokens for their trouble and potentially even win up to 1,000 of them if they beat Pierre and win the entire thing.

To give the player time to prepare for the event, you will receive a letter from Mayor Lewis a week before the event, explaining the requirements of the display and, therefore, giving you a few days to procure some suitable items. Also, in case you aren’t aware. When you attend the event, to begin the Grange Display, you will need to speak to Mayor Lewis.

How Do You Win The Stardew Valley Fair?

Winning the Stardew Valley Fair in your first year can be tricky, especially if you have been focusing on mining or other activities that won’t offer suitable items for the Grange Display.

However, it is by no means impossible. The player just needs to plan well ahead of time, save their best items for the display instead of selling them for a quick profit, and some tips can help you bump up your score on the day too. Check it out below:

How the Grange Display Works:

Firstly, you should understand how the scoring is broken down. By default, all participants are awarded 14 points simply for participating. Then the player will be awarded one point for every item they submit, up to nine points. Then you will earn 5 points for every category of item represented, earning you up to thirty points. Here are all the categories you will need to cover:

• Animal Products
• Artisan goods
• Cooking
• Fish
• Foraging
• Fruits
• Minerals
• Vegetables

Then the player will have to select the best items in each category to earn points. Each item has its own points tally, so you will need to experiment with certain items to try and get the best results.

However, as a general rule, you will want to go for items that are harder to procure than others, and you will want to include the highest quality items you have in your possession, so Iridium items are the best option usually. Here is a rundown of the best items in each category based on monetary value and points totals:

• Ostrich Egg: 8 Points (Animal Products)
• Ancient Fruit Wine: 8 Points (Artisan goods)
• Oil of Garlic: 6 Points (Cooking)
• Legend Fish: 8 Points (Fishing)
• Magma Cap: 8 Points (Forage and Flowers)
• Starfruit: 8 Points (Fruit)
• Prismatic Shard: 6 Points (Minerals)
• Pumpkin: 8 Points (Vegetables)

What Are Star Tokens & How Do You Get Them?

The Grange Display is obviously why you’ll want to attend this event. However, the other draw of this event is the Star Tokens on offer and what they can be used on.

Star tokens are essentially a one-time currency that players can use during this event. Players will be able to use these items in the pop-up shop within the event. However, you may be wondering how you get your hands on these tokens. Well, here is a rundown of how you can get tokens:

The Grange Display: 

As we mentioned, The Grange Display offers players a chance to win Star Tokens. This is the breakdown of what can be won at this event:

1st Place: 1,000 Star tokens

2nd place: 500 Star Tokens

3rd Place: 200 Star Tokens

4th Place: 50 Star Tokens

Disqualified: 750 Star Tokens

Attractions:

Within this event, there are also a variety of different attractions and mini-games that give the player the chance to make a heap of Star Token for just a little injection of in-game currency. Here is a list of the games on offer:

Fishing Attraction: 

cost: 50g

Potential Winnings: 400+ Star Tokens

This mini-game provides the player with a small area to fish, and their overall goal is to catch as many as they can within the allotted time. Each Fish awards the player 12-25 points, and all non-fish items award one point.

Slingshot Attraction: 

Cost: 50g

Potential winnings: 500+ Star Tokens

For console players, this one may not be a very viable option due to the shoddy slingshot controls. However, if you are a whizz with a slingshot, you can win up to 500 Star Tokens by simply hitting targets in front of you. Some targets are worth more than others, and there is a multiplier for accuracy, so pick your targets carefully.

Test Your Strength Attraction:

Cost: Free

Potential Winnings: One Star Token

If you are short on cash but still need some Star Tokens, you could always bash the smashing stone. This is a carnival classic where you hit the stone with one of your tools and test your strength. This is a simple timing game, and if you raise the bar completely, you will earn one Star Token. It ain’t much, but it’s better than nothing.

Gambling Wheel Attraction

Cost: Price of Bet

Potential Winnings: Double Your stake

Then lastly, we have the gambling wheel. This is an attraction that involves a wheel that spins randomly, either landing on orange or green sections. It’s essentially like betting red or black at a roulette table. The player bets a stake, and if they guess correctly, they win double back.

The board is set up so that green will win 75% of the time, so if you bet smart, you will be able to quickly generate enough money to buy out the entire store. This is by far the best attraction to generate Star Tokens.

It is also worth noting that there is a Star Token seller who will give you 1 Star Token in return for 50g each. Plus, there is a fortune-teller who can read your future and tell you interesting and rather helpful things about the other characters in the town. This will cost the player 100g.

What Can You Spend Your Tokens On?

Okay, so you have managed to generate some profit by winning the Grange Display competition and then gaming the system on the gambling wheel. Meaning that you are coming down with Star Tokens. Well, maybe it’s about time we told you how to spend them. Here are all the items that you can purchase at the Stardew Valley Fair:

• Dried Sunflowers – 100 Star Tokens
• Fedora – 250 Star Tokens
• Rare row – 1000 Star Tokens
• Star drop – 2,000 Star Tokens
• Light green Rug – 500 Star Tokens
• Triple Shot Espresso – 400 Star Tokens
• Hay (100) – 500 Star Tokens
• Pepper Poppers – 250 Star Tokens
• Glowstone Ring – 1,000 Star Tokens
• Mixed Seeds (24) – 1,000 Star Tokens

The big-ticket items here are the Rarecrow which is based on the character ‘Turnip Head’ from Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Stardrop that grants the player access to more daily energy as soon as they consume it.

Stardew Valley Fair Secrets

Aside from the scoring system, all the above information is stuff that is immediately apparent when you enter the Stardew Valley Fair. However, there are some things that the game doesn’t tell you, which are vitally important if you want to get the most out of this event and see all that it has to offer. So here are the best-hidden secrets of the Stardew Valley Fair.

Mayor Lewis’ Shorts 

Many players will be aware of the relationship that Lewis and Marnie work hard to keep quiet throughout the run of Stardew Valley. The player can find out a lot about their relationship through various heart events.

However, on one occasion, rather early in the game, Mayor Lewis will ask the player to retrieve his Purple Shorts from Marnie as a quest. The player can turn these in the Lewis and receive a nice little cash award for doing so. However, holding on to them can lead to much more enjoyable scenarios.

For you see, if the player includes Mayor Lewis’ Purple Shorts in their Grange Display, he will disqualify the player and immediately award them 750-star points to keep things quiet. This can be a great option in the first year, as it’s rather tricky to beat Pierre without access to a wealth of options.

Survival Burgers 

If you have attended several Stardew events before this one, you will know that the discussions you have with other characters are mainly superficial. They offer some nice dialogue that fits the occasion, but it rarely has any benefit to the player. Well, at the Stardew Valley Fair, if you talk to Gus, he will give the player a Survival Burger.

What this does is restore the player’s energy after they leave the event. So if you spent some time in the morning farming and lost all your energy, you’ll get it all back when you leave. Sadly, you return home again at 10 PM, so you won’t be able to get a tonne of things done, but it’s a useful boost nonetheless.

Retrieve Your Goods

Then lastly, many players may believe that the Grange Display items are lost when the competition is over. Well, you would be wrong. After the Grange Display concludes, the player will be able to head up to their display and retrieve all of their items, which means that you can make some profit on these luxury items after saving them for the big day.

Now, some of you may be disappointed as you have already played this event and left your goodies on the display. Well, don’t be, as you can retrieve them at a later time if you head to Mayor Lewis’ house and get them from the lost and found box. What we are saying is, don’t let these items go to waste.

FAQs

Have Fun at The Fair!

As you can see from the information above, the Stardew Valley Fair may only be a one-day event, but the planning that goes into succeeding will have you gathering up your display items for weeks before the event begins.

This is perhaps the most enjoyable and lucrative event in all of Stardew Valley, offering fun gameplay, useful items, and some fun secrets that make it a blast to play through each year. We hope that this guide gives you all the info you need to enjoy this event and when you beat Pierre, be sure to rub it in his face for us!