Stardew Valley - Ultimate New Festivals Guide (Update 1.6)

Here you can find full info about new festivals in the Stardew Valley game after update 1.6.

Guide to All New Festivals

The Desert Festival

It is a festival held each year in the desert from the 15th through the 17th of spring. A refurbished bus is required to participate. You need to arrive at the bus stop at 10 am and drive to the desert.

The chintz egg is a game currency that can be used to buy various items in various stores during the festival. They can be earned by participating in various competitions, challenges, and other activities at the festival.

There are several different activities at this festival:

Races – During the day, you can place bets on the ongoing races and if the chosen participant wins, you will receive 20 chintz eggs for winning. This is repeated until 11pm when the last race is over. If you want to increase your chance of winning, approach the Suspicious Man (he can be found near the Oasis) and indicate which contestant in the race should lose. He will ask for one egg for his services.
Fishing – Willy gives quests to catch specific fish, for the fulfillment of which the player receives chintz eggs.

Conversation with a Scientist – The professor asks you four questions, and if the player answers all of them correctly, he gets 50 chintz eggs. Only one attempt per day is given to win. After a successful round of questions, you must wait until next year to get another reward. Questions are randomly selected from the table for each event.

List of questions:

Where are we? – Calico Desert.
When does the season end? – On the 28th.
Who runs the general store in the town of Pelican? – Pierre.
Who runs the Museum in the city of Pelican? – Gunter.
Who runs the Fisherman’s Store in the town of Pelican? – Willy.
Who runs the Blacksmith Shop in the town of Pelican? – Clint.
Who runs the Saloon in Pelican City? – Gus.
Who runs the Pet Shop in the town of Pelican? – Marnie.
When does an apricot tree bear fruit? – Spring.
When does a peach tree bear fruit? – Summer.
When does a pomegranate tree bear fruit? – Fall.
At what time of year does garlic grow? – Spring.
At what time of year does red cabbage grow? – Summer.
At what time of year does an artichoke grow? – Fall.
At what time are carp caught? – At any time of the year.
At what time are urchin fish caught? – Summer.
At what time are salmon caught? – Fall.
At what time is squid caught? – Winter.
Where can rockfish be caught? – On the 20th level of the mine.
Where can you catch an Icefish? – On the 60th level of the mine.
Where can you catch a lava eel? – At the 100th level of the mine.
On what day is Pierre’s store closed? – Wednesday.
What is George’s last name? – Mullner.
How many garbage cans are there in the town of Pelican? – 8.
How much is a pig worth? – 16000 з.
How much is a chicken worth? – 800 з.
How much is a duck worth? – 1200 з.
How much is a rabbit worth? – 8000 з.
How much is a cow worth? – 1500 з.

Chef – The chef gives you ingredients to choose from which he will make a dish. The dishes will have different effects that depend on the ingredients chosen.

Free Cactus – Once during the festival, you can get a free cactus from the cactus vendor at the bottom of the map. There are several different types of free cactus.

Skull Cave – During the festival, Gil and Marlon from the Adventurers Guild give quests to kill monsters or reach a certain level in the Skull Cave. You don’t need a key to get into the Skull Cave during the festival. Eggs level up every 5 levels and additionally every time the Chintz Statue is activated, which randomly spawns on floors or in treasure rooms in the Skull Cave. By talking to Gil, you will be able to estimate the egg level for the day for a prize. This prize depends on the egg level and may include Chintz Eggs (100 at egg level 20), Triple Expresso (x5 at egg level 20), and Gil’s hat (egg level 40).

Harvey’s Healing Station – If you pass out in the Skull Cave during the festival, you will wake up in Harvey’s Healing Station, located near the entrance to the Skull Cave at the festival.

Villagers – Similar to the night market, villagers will deviate from their normal schedule to attend the festival. Some Pelican residents (Demetrius, Sebastiaan, Vincent, Haley, Maru, Robin, Penny, Pam, Leah, Jody, Harvey, George, Evelyn, Elliot, Emily and Alex) set up their own stores during the festival, and they are open from 12 noon to 12 midnight. The range of goods in the stores depends on the activities and character of the residents. Even though he is busy and at work, you can enter the stores through the back, meaning that these residents are still available for gifts, conversation or quests while at their post.

Garbage can – Check the garbage can next to the chintz egg merchant’s store, one chintz egg falls out of it every day of the festival.

Mysterious Figure – Moves you back to your farm for 250 h.

Traveling Merchant – There will also be a traveling merchant at the festival. Each day of the festival the assortment changes. You can also purchase the recipe for making an engagement ring in multiplayer there.

Mini Fishing Festivals

Trout Derby

It is a festival that takes place in Cindersell Forest on the riverbank near Marney Ranch. It starts at 6:10 and ends at 2 am.

A golden tag is an item that can be obtained with a small chance if you catch a rainbow trout during the festival. It will appear either when you have already fished or in a treasure chest. These gold tags can be exchanged for prizes at a kiosk nearby.

Unlike other festivals, stores and homes throughout the Stardew Valley do not close on the days of the event, and time keeps running during the festival.

At the kiosk, you can purchase a crab trap, bucket hat, mystery box, diamond, ornamental trout, luxury bait, omnijods, high quality sprinkler and triple expresso for golden tags.

Recommendation: it is better to make more bait before the festival and increase the chance of catching rainbow trout.

SquidFest

It is a mini fishing festival held on the 12th through 13th of each winter on the beach. It starts at 6:10 am and ends at 2:00 pm on both days. During the festival, you can catch squid and exchange them for prizes at a kiosk nearby.