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Stardew Valley has a range of exciting and wonderful festivals that take place every year; specifically, there are two festivals every month! In Spring, there is the Egg Festival and the Flower dance; in Summer, there is the Luau and the Dance Of The Moonlight Jellies; in Fall, there is the Stardew Valley Fair and Spirits Eve, and in Winter there is the Festival of Ice and the Night Market.
In this particular guide, we are going to focus on the wonderful and sometimes overlooked Luau! The Luau is a Summer festival that occurs every year on the 11th of Summer. The Luau takes place on the Beach, which can be found south of Pelican Town. On the day of the Luau, you will not be able to enter the Beach until 9 am, and as soon as you do, the event will begin.
The Luau is a beloved festival, and all villagers take part! This means that you will not be able to visit any of the shops/houses or residents of Pelican Town on the day of the festival as they will all be in attendance.
Suppose you want to attend the Luau, which I would recommend! You need to arrive at the Beach before 2 pm as that is when the event will end; once you leave the event, you will be immediately transported back to your home, and it will be 10 pm. If you have anything to do on the day of the Luau, it’s important to do it before the Luau starts.
The Luau is like a giant town-wide potluck! There is a communal soup, and everyone brings something to add to the Soup to make it taste amazing! You should bring not only a good item for the Soup but also the best quality crop that you have! So if you are harvesting crops or selling produce, remember to keep some of the higher quality items aside leading up to the festival on the 11th of Summer.
Bottom Line Up Front
The Luau is a festival that takes place on the 11th of Summer every year. The event is a town-wide pot luck, which begins at 9 am-2 pm on the Beach. If you do not arrive before 2 pm, you will miss the Luau. When you attend the Luau, you can add one item to the Soup by climbing the set of stairs in front of the pot of Soup and selecting the item you wish to add.
When the Soup is ready, the Governor will taste the Soup, and depending on how good or bad he judges it, you will receive or lose friendship points with everyone in the Town.
You do not have to attend the Luau, and if you do attend, you do not have to add any items to the Soup. If you do not add any items, you will not receive or lose any points with anyone, and the Governor will ask if everyone added items to it.
You should bring the highest quality items with you in advance of the Luau so that they can be added to the Soup. The Governor’s reactions can be split between the best Soup, a good soup, an okay soup, a bad soup, and a terrible soup.
To make a great soup, you can add gold level Beer, Cauliflower, or Cheese, for example.
There is also the chance for mischief by adding the Mayors missing shorts to the Soup, this won’t add or take away any friendship points, and no one will know you have done this other than the Mayor (who will be absolutely furious with you)
When you attend the event, you can speak with anyone in attendance; when you are ready, you should add your item to the Soup and then approach the Governor, who will ask if you are ready to start the tasting, which will then trigger the tasting and the cutscene, after which you will be transported home at 10 pm.
There is also a shop at the festival where you can buy some decorative items for your home or some Starfruit.
The Luau Shop
There is a small booth at the Luau, which is run by local resident and marketing guru Pierre. At the booth, you can purchase a range of items, including;
A Wall Palm
If you love plants and decorating your home with them, the Luau is something that you really do not want to miss as you have the chance to buy lots of different plants that you don’t always get elsewhere! The Wall Palm (much like the name would suggest) looks similar to a giant Palm Tree which can be used inside your house if you love those bohemian vibes (an option I always go for).
When placed in your house, it hangs on the wall and can be bought for 1000g. This is an expensive purchase so be sure that you like it and want it inside your house as it can’t be sold if you change your mind!
Jungle Decal
There are four different styles of Jungle Decal which you may get when you purchase one, although there is no large difference, mostly just the style and shape of the leaf. These can also be used to decorate the inside of your house and give it that jungle vine feel! They cost 800g per item from Pierre at the Luau Shop. If you do feel you want these, it is best to be sure as if you change your mind, these cannot be sold.
Ceiling Leaves
These are similar to the Jungle Decal and can also be used to decorate the inside of your house; there are three different types that you may get at the Luau Shop when you purchase a ceiling leaf. They are similar to the Ceiling Leaves that you will see at the Flower Dance, except these are darker forest green. From the Luau Shop, these cost 400g per item. These cannot be resold if you no longer want them.
Totem Pole
This is a decorative piece that can be placed inside your home and is made of wood and is decorative furniture but can also be placed outside. From the Luau booth, the Totem Pole will cost 1000g; you can also buy the Totem Pole from the Carpenters Shop for 750g and anywhere between 250-2500g at the Travelling Cart, which appears west of Marnie’s Ranch on Fridays and Sundays between 6 am and 8 pm. This cannot be sold if you change your mind!
Plain Torch
The Plain Torch looks like a wooden campfire Torch and can be placed inside or outside your house. It costs 700g from the Luau booth and can also be purchased at the Night Market for 800g. Similar to all other items you can purchase from the Luau Booth, it cannot be resold.
Starfruit
Probably one of the most exciting potential purchases from the booth at the Luau is the Starfruit! The reason it is so exciting is that it has the second-highest value (after the Sweet Gem Berry) of any other crop. Starfruit seeds can only be planted in Summer (unless they are in the Greenhouse) and take 13 days to grow into a full Starfruit.
The Starfruit is also important as it is needed to build a Junimo Hut; if you want to create one, you will need 9x Starfruit, 200x Stone, 100x Fibre, and 20,000g. Starfruit can also be used to make Genie Pants in the Sewing Machine. Starfruit is also required for a Quest where Kent requests one Starfruit on the 15th of Summer for a reward of 500g and one friendship point.
The Luau Pot Luck – Selecting an Item
What Should I Add to the Soup?
To get the best response from the Soup tasting, you cannot add normal/basic quality items. The list of items can be never-ending, but some good examples are;
- Silver level items: A variety of Wines; Apple, Banana, Coconut, Mango, Melon, Orange, Peach, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Rhubarb, Starfruit, and Strawberry. You can also add Goat Cheese, Golden Egg, Large Goat Milk, Lava Eel, and Pale Ale,
- Gold or Iridium level items: Beer, Cauliflower, Cheese, Chanterelle, Goats Cheese, Goat Milk, Mead, Pale Ale, and Yam.
To get a good response from the Soup tasting, you can add normal quality items, as well as silver and gold level items such as ;
- Basic items: Amaranth, Apple, Cauliflower, Chanterelle, Cheese, Flounder, Goat Cheese, Goat Milk, and Pale Ale.
- Silver items: Albacore, Beer, Bullhead, Cauliflower, Chanterelle, Cheese, and Eel.
- Gold or Iridium level items: Albacore, Beet, Cherry, Eel, Duck Egg, Halibut, Large Egg, Largemouth Bass, Lingcod, Milk, Potato, and Salmon.
To get a neutral response from the Soup tasting, you can add the following normal or higher quality items;
- Basic items: Albacore, Blueberry, Bream, Bullhead, Corn, Eel, Duck Egg, and Potato.
- Silver/Gold or Iridium level items: Apricot, Blueberry, Common Mushroom, Egg, Leek, and Parsnip.
Items that will cause a bad response from the soup tasting include any of the following at any quality level;
- Anchovy
- Carp
- Crocus
- Daffodil
- Field Snack
- Green Algae
- Joja Cola
- Salmonberry
- Spring Onion
- Sweet Pea
Items that will provoke the worst response from the soup tasting include any of the following at any quality level;
- Holly
- Pufferfish
- Sap
- Red Mushroom
- Sea Cucumber
- Void Mayonnaise
- Scorpion Carp
How Do I Add Items to the Soup?
Once you have selected the item you want to add to the Soup, make sure you carry this with you on the day of the Potluck to bring it with you to the Beach. Once you are at the festival, there is a small set of stairs that lead up to the pot, you should walk up these and then select the item you want to add to the Soup, and it will add it for you!
Note that you can only add one item to the Soup, so be sure that you select the right one!
How to Start the Tasting
As you can wander around and speak with anyone at the festival, in order to actually trigger the cutscene in which the Governor will taste and judge the Soup, you must approach the Governor and speak with him, and he will ask if you are ready to begin, if your item has already been added to the Soup you should select yes and the event will begin!
The Luau Response
The Governor is really the deciding factor of a successful Luau; he will taste the Soup and, based on the items inside, will decide how good (or how bad) it is. There are six possible response types from the Governor;
- The ideal response: If the Governor absolutely loves the Soup and you added the best possible ingredient, the Governor will say ”Oh my.. that is the best Soup I ever tasted” If you get this response, you will be rewarded with 120 friendship points with each of the villagers in the Town.
- A good response: If the Governor enjoys the Soup and you added a valuable ingredient, the Governor will say, ”Ah, that’s a very pleasant soup. The produce from this Valley never disappoints” If you get this response, you will be rewarded with 60 friendship points with each of the villagers in the Town.
- A neutral response: If the Governor does not particularly enjoy the Soup and you added a basic ingredient, the Governor will say ” Hm, I don’t have much to say about this Soup, it is an average Soup” If you get this response, you will not gain or lose friendship points.
- A bad response: If the Governor dislikes the Soup and you added a poor ingredient, the Governor will say, ”Um. It is actually kind of disgusting. I think I will pass on the Soup this year” If you make the Soup bad, you will lose 50 points with each villager.
- The worst possible response: If the Governor hates the Soup and you added a terrible ingredient, the Governor will say,” Blech! This is vile! I think I am going to be sick” If you make a terrible soup, you will lose 100 friendship points with everyone in the Town.
- No added ingredient response: If you forget or choose not to add anything to the Soup, the Governor will say,” Well, it’s not bad, but it’s missing something. Did everyone in Town contribute an ingredient to the Soup? I feel like it’s missing someone’s unique voice.” No points will be given or taken.
The Best Ingredient for Mischief
The secret option, of course, for the Soup is a fun surprise; you can add Mayor Lewis’s Shorts. Mayor Lewis’s shady relationship with Marnie is thinly veiled. During your first Summer in Pelican Town, you are contacted by a letter from Mayor Lewis, where he asks you to ”discreetly” locate his missing shorts (not weird or suspicious at all, right?)
Well, the even weirder twist is that you can find Mayor Lewis’s Shorts in Marnie’s bedroom (best not to dwell on that too much). To get the shorts, you need to be friends with Marnie, or she will not allow you to walk through her house into the rooms; the easiest way to get a good relationship with Marnie is to give the gifts that she likes.
- Gifts that Marnie loves: Diamonds, Farmer’s Lunch, Pumpkin Pie, Pink Cake
- Gifts that Marnie likes: All universal in-game likes, all Eggs, all Milk, and Quartz.
Once you are friends with Marnie, you can enter her room in her house and retrieve the Mayor’s shorts; this is where the fun starts. While according to the quest, you are supposed to return the shorts to the Mayor for a reward of 750g and one friendship point between you and the Mayor. However, you can choose to keep the shorts until the Luau and put them in the Soup! (Don’t you love a bit of mischief)
If you put the shorts in the Soup, you receive a unique ”secret” response from the Governor, and he will say ” “Hmm. It is a bit tangy, but actually, the flavor is quite good! Just one minute, there’s something in my bowl. What is this?”
While all other residents do not react to this and your relationship with everyone is unaffected, the Mayor will be absolutely furious with you. Who wouldn’t want to infuriate the Mayor? He is a lazy and terrible Mayor!
Socializing at the Luau
One of the nice, and lesser important, if I am honest, aspects of the Luau is that it is a chance to chat with all of the residents of Pelican Town!
Normally, what I like to do is chat to everyone in attendance before I put anything in the Soup because once you do, the event will begin, and the cutscene will trigger, following which the festival ends and you arrive back at home.
FAQs
Question: What is the best item to put in the Soup at Stardew Valley?
Question: What happens if I put the Mayor’s Shorts in the Soup?
Question: Do you have to take part in the Luau?
Stardew Valley Luau Guide: Summary
I hope that this guide gives you all the information and also all of the excitement that you need in order to attend your first Luau! Remember to bring plenty of quality crops with you to make sure you get the most friendship points that you can and that you can please the Governor!
Or, bring a mysterious pair of lost shorts to cause havoc for the Mayor! Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy your first Luau.