Weeks before the dawn of spring, the month of February brings not only Valentine’s Day to get your heart pumping, but also carnival season with its confetti, dancing and general jovialness. We could all do with a drop of frivolity, right?
The arrival of carnival seasons means it’s time for Pavé, the divine dancing peacock, to land on your island and get that party started. The 28th January 2021 update to Nintendo’s sedate life sim (patch 1.7.0 if you want to get all technical) contains a host of new items and activities to look forward to, as well as the Festivale event itself, and we’ve collected all available information about the event in this handy guide.
¡Viva Festivale!
What is Festivale?
Festivale in Animal Crossing is an event that mirrors the real-world Carnival and Mardi Gras festivals. It has featured previously in Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and the event, — which involves plenty of colour and dancing — is hosted by the fabulous Pavé the peacock.
In New Horizons specifically, it appears you’ll be charged with collecting different coloured feathers found floating around your island, much like the cherry blossom or snowflakes of previous events. Giving these feathers to Pavé, who arrives on your main plaza and stays there for the duration of the event, will cause him to do a special dance for you. Ooo la la!
Festivale Event Times
Festivale is an all-day event celebrated on 15th February in Animal Crossing: New Horizons in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The event is inspired by cultural celebrations – specifically Carnival and Mardi Gras – and is described by Nintendo as a “festival of color, costumes and craziness!”
On the day of the event, themed music can be heard playing on the island, and everyone – including special characters – will be dressed up in Festivale outfits or headwear. Feathers and confetti will also be seen floating around the island.
Festivale Reaction Set
A new set of reactions for your character can be bought from the cabinet in Nook’s Cranny for a limited time during the event. It’ll set you back some bells, but you’ll get a set of new reactions, including ‘Feelin’ It’, ‘Let’s Go’, ‘Viva’ and ‘Confetti’.
On the day of Festivale, if you use these reactions around your neighbors, they’ll interact and dance along with you!
Festivale Clothing
Seasonal Festivale clothing will be available to buy at the Able Sisters’ shop from 1st February, which should help you get in the dancing mood alongside Pavé.
The clothing consists of a Festivale Accessory, Festivale Costume and Festivale Tank Dress – all available in four different colours (red, blue, green and purple)
Festivale Event Guide
On the day of Festivale, be sure to dress up in the clothing listed above – simply nothing else will do for Pavé.
Once dressed for the occasion, speak to Pavé to be tasked with the capture of various coloured feathers floating around your isle. Pavé will request that you either bring him three of a single color of feather, or individual rainbow feathers. While rainbow feathers can be caught, they are rare – so he will also give you a recipe to craft them.
When you bring Pavé the feathers he requests, you’ll be rewarded with various Festivale-themed items – which can also be purchased throughout the month leading up to the event, but of course we’ll all want multiples of these festive items (unlike a certain egg-themed set…). Most of these items can be customised with the rainbow feathers into one of five different variations – red, blue, green, purple, or rainbow (our personal favourite).
List of Festivale Items
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Festivale Balloon Lamp |
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Festivale Confetti Machine |
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Festivale Drum |
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Festivale Flag |
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Festivale Garland |
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Festivale Lamp |
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Festivale Parasol |
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Festivale Stage |
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Festivale Stand |
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Festivale Float |
January and February Seasonal Items
The Nook Stop in Resident Services (and the Nook Shopping app, if you’ve unlocked that) will also feature seasonal items to order.
The first items to show up will be in honour of the Japanese tradition of Setsubun: a Bean-Tossing kit available until the 3rd February. An Ogre costume will also be available to buy for Bells in the Able Sisters’ shop from 1st February.
Valentine’s Day-themed gifts including chocolate hearts and heart-shaped bouquets will be available to order from 1st February until the 14th February.
Other items with a ‘Groundhog Day’, ‘Big Game Celebration’ (American Football) and ‘Lunar New Year’ theme will also be available throughout January and February, in addition to an adorable Resetti bust and other goodies, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for those!
This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you’re looking for specific fish or bug, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of Critters leaving at the end of the month. We’ve also compiled a Complete Villager List and a Complete List of K.K. Slider Songs, as well as the Best Custom Design Codes and Islands we’ve found so far, and the best islands to visit using Dream Address Codes.
