Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been updated with yet another holiday: Festivale. Hosted by a peacock named Pave, Festivale is a one-day event that occurs in February or March depending on the year. In 2021, Festivale takes place on February 15. Like with other holidays in New Horizons, there are items you can only get on Festivale by participating in the Festivale event.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about Festivale. This includes how to get each new Festivale furniture item, including the super-rare Festivale float; how feathers work and how to get rainbow feathers; and tips for how to make the most of the feathers and items you get so you don’t miss out.
What Is Festivale?
Festivale is Animal Crossing’s take on Carnival. In 2021, Festivale falls on February 15. You can “time travel” by adjusting your Nintendo Switch clock to February 15, 2021 to participate in Festivale if you missed the event. On this day, the dancing peacock Pave will be in the plaza, and your villagers will be out and about participating in the holiday too.
On the day of Festivale, there will be feathers floating around your island, similar to cherry blossoms, maple leaves, and snowflakes. You need to catch feathers with a net to collect them. The feathers come in five colors: green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. While you might find some colors more frequently than others, you’ll be able to catch all of them. Rainbow feathers are rare, but you will occasionally find them floating around.
The main point of Festivale is to exchange feathers for rare furniture items. You’ll be able to collect these feathers only on the day of the event, and while the furniture items are on sale at Nook’s Cranny for two weeks leading up to the event, they cannot be crafted, so the only way to get more is by giving feathers to Pave.
Every Festivale Item (All Pave Rewards)
There are nine regular Festivale items, and they can be customized to one of five color variants: green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. Regardless of the color you want, you need rainbow feathers to customize the Festivale items. These items are:
- Festivale balloon lamp
- Festivale confetti machine
- Festivale drum
- Festivale flag
- Festivale garland
- Festivale lamp
- Festivale parasol
- Festivale stage
- Festivale stall
These items are available for sale in Nook’s Cranny for around two weeks leading up to Festivale. You can buy one each day, and your Nook’s Cranny will stock only one of the five color options for purchase. These items cannot be ordered from Nook Shopping and are not craftable. The only way to get more of these items without trading with other players is by participating in Festivale.
Gallery
There’s also a special item called the Festivale float, which cannot be customized, purchased, or crafted. The only way to get the Festivale float is by trading with Pave.
How To Get All The Festivale Items
On the day of Festivale, speak to Pave in the plaza, who will request that you change into a Festivale outfit. (You can buy the Festivale costume, Festivale tank dress, and Festivale accessory at Able Sisters on Festivale.) Pave will then give you a rainbow feather DIY recipe. To craft a rainbow feather, you need one red feather, one blue feather, one green feather, and one purple feather.
Pave will ask you to bring him feathers in exchange for rewards. You can either:
- bring him three of one color feather in exchange for a Festivale furniture item of that color variant, or
- bring him one rainbow feather in exchange for a Festivale furniture item of the rainbow variant.
You can choose either of these options or mix and match depending on what color variants you want. He’ll give you a different item each time you trade with him until he’s given you the full set, but even after you’ve received the full set, you can continue to trade feathers with Pave for more of the same items until the event ends.
How To Get The Festivale Float
Once you’ve traded with Pave nine times–once for each regular Festivale item–he’ll ask you to bring him three rainbow feathers in exchange for a special reward: the Festivale float. This is the only way to get the Festivale float without trading with other players.
You can get as many Festivale floats as you’d like on the day of Festivale. You just need to complete a cycle of nine trades, and then Pave will offer you the trade for the Festivale float. You can continue to do this until the event ends.
How To Get Feathers
Requires: net
Feathers are only available on the day of the event, so it’s important to get as many as you need while you can. You’ll be able to catch feathers with a net throughout the day; simply run around your island with your net out and press A to catch feathers the same way you would catch bugs.
Like the Festivale items, feathers come in green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. You’ll find every color floating around your island, but because it’s random, you might find one or two colors more frequently than others just by chance. Rainbow feathers, while very rare, will appear occasionally.
How To Get Rainbow Feathers
In addition to finding rainbow feathers floating around your island, you’ll also be able to craft them using the DIY recipe given to you by Pave. It’s easier to craft rainbow feathers than it is to find them, so make sure you catch plenty of feathers so you can craft rainbow ones. Keep in mind that you need rainbow feathers to customize Festivale items–customization kits don’t work, and neither do red, blue, green, or purple feathers–so make sure you get as many as you’ll need on the day of the event.
Trading Feathers With Villagers
If you’re not getting the colors you need or want, you can also trade feathers with villagers. When you talk to your villagers around town, they will offer to trade you feathers of one color for those of another color (excluding rainbow). What they choose is random, so if they don’t offer the trade you’re looking for, decline their offer and try a different villager. You can keep doing this until they offer the exchange you’re looking for.
You can trade one, two, or three feathers depending on how many you have in a stack in your inventory (three is the maximum). If you want to trade only one feather at a time, make sure you have one feather by itself in your pockets (not in a stack of two or three feathers) so you trade only as many as you want to.
Trading feathers is useful if you’re trying to get a certain color to exchange with Pave or if you want to craft rainbow feathers and find you have too many of a certain color and not enough of another.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
