ACNH is full of annual events where you can get your hands on more DIYs, items, and clothing, and Festivale is no different!
In this upbeat, carnival-inspired event, you’ll notice a wave of confetti, music, and dancing take over your island, but what can you do during Festivale? Let’s find out!
What is Festivale?
Festivale is an ACNH event during February or March, depending on the year. Based on Mardi Gras, it’s hosted by a dance-loving peacock, Pavé, who encourages dancing and bright clothing to match the festivities!
With carnival music, themed items up for grabs, and a fun feather-catching game, Festivale is not to be missed!
Celebrating Festivale in ACNH
From the 1st of the month until the day before Festivale, Timmy & Tommy will have special Festivale-themed items for sale at Nook’s Cranny.
During the run-up, you’ll also see the limited offer to purchase the Viva Festivale Reaction Set (Confetti, Feelin’ It, Let’s Go, and Viva) from Timmy & Tommy’s cabinet in Nook’s Cranny.
If that wasn’t enough, you can buy Festivale outfits from Able Sisters, so you look the part when Pavé arrives.
Three items of clothing are available: Festivale Tank Dress, Festivale Costume, and Festivale Accessory. All Festivale clothing articles are available in green, red, purple, and blue.
On the day itself, Pavé will set up his stage in the plaza from 9am until 12am, dancing to high-tempo music and shaking his tail feathers. Watch confetti float across your island as the weather takes on a Mardi Gras theme.
As the day gets underway, you’ll notice islanders gathering at the plaza near Pavé wearing brightly colored clothing and dancing to the Festivale tunes!
With regular bursts of movement and confetti showers, your islanders will get you in the Festivale spirit if you weren’t already.
What is the point of Festivale in ACNH?
Festivale isn’t just for the love of music, it’s also a helpful event to get new items and DIYs, which can be obtained by playing the mini-game: feather-catching!
Pavé LOVES feathers. And he wants them all. Your task is to catch three of each color (blue, green, red, purple) and take them to Pavé in exchange for an item.
There are ten items available during this event, including one item that can only be obtained from Pavé himself (along with an epic explosion of dance) after bringing him three rare rainbow feathers!
The Festivale items are:
- Festivale Balloon Lamp
- Festivale Flag
- Festivale Stage
- Festivale Parasol
- Festivale Garland
- Festivale Stall
- Festivale Drum
- Festivale Confetti Machine
- Festivale Lamp
- Festivale Float
In true Pavé style, the items you receive will be brighter variations of what was on offer at Nook’s Cranny.
However, the ultimate Pavé prize is received after completing the very last task. In return for three rainbow feathers, Pavé will do the dance to end all dances and bestow you with the regal Festivale Float: a peacock-shaped float that has moving light-up tail feathers.
Receiving the Festivale float is worth the effort of collecting all those feathers, as it’s the only Festivale item you can’t purchase from Nook’s Cranny.
If you’re not a fan of the float, you can sell it to Timmy & Tommy for 20,000 bells – worth its weight in feathers!
ACNH Festivale DIY
During Festivale, there is one DIY you can receive from Pavé: the rainbow feather.
To get the DIY, catch a rainbow feather and give it to Pavé. In exchange, he’ll trade the rainbow feather DIY.
After you’ve received all items from Pavé, he’ll send you one final task – to catch three rainbow feathers. Using your previously learned DIY, you can craft the rainbow feather instead of running around swiping your net at feathers!
To craft rainbow feathers, you’ll need one feather of each color i.e green, red, purple, and blue.
How to catch feathers for Festivale
Catch feathers in the same way you would cherry blossoms or snowflakes. Equip your net and press ‘A’ when you’re close enough to catch them.
Unlike snowflakes and cherry blossoms, though, if you miss the feather it won’t disappear. It’ll carry on floating in the air so you can have another go.
If you don’t fancy swinging at feathers all day, speak to villagers; your islanders will be looking to trade their feathers for other colors.
For players interested in bells rather than items, common feathers will sell for 200 bells, however, rainbow feathers will go for 1,600 bells at Nook’s Cranny.
Customizing Festivale items
That’s right – they’re customizable too! All Festivale items, apart from the Festivale Float, are customizable using rainbow feathers instead of standard kits.
The number of feathers you’ll need will depend on what you’re looking to customize, as the Festivale items range from needing one to two rainbow feathers per customization.
If you’re not sure whether you have enough feathers to customize an item, follow the typical customization steps until you’re at the inventory screen to pick what you’d like to change the appearance of.
If the Festivale item has a grey feather on it, then you don’t have enough rainbow feathers to customize it. If there’s no grey feather then you’re good to go!
However, if you don’t have enough feathers to customize your Festivale items, don’t worry; we have a trick that can help!
Ask Cyrus to customize Festivale items
When you unlock Harv’s plaza – specifically Reese and Cyrus’s stall – you can customize items without customization kits or additional resources.
In this case, that means you don’t need rainbow feathers!
Take the items you want customized to Cyrus and he’ll do it for bells. It’s a small price to pay if you don’t have access to rainbow or common feathers to customize in the first place!
How long does Festivale last?
Festivale lasts for one ACNH day i.e 5am until 5am the following day. You snooze you lose!
Be sure to play (or time travel) to the Festivale date and win your items from Pavé so you don’t miss out.
When is Festivale in 2023?
In 2023, Festivale was on February 20th 2023, so you’ll need to time-travel backward if you missed it.
However, it won’t be on the same day next year. Festivale is rumored to happen on February 12 in 2024.
Festivale in ACNH
For a one-day event, Festivale knocks it out of the park! With the option to get ten new items and one new DIY, we love this Mardi-Gras-inspired event.
Remember Pavé will only be on your island until 12am, so make the most of his visit and complete the mini-game to get all the Festivale-themed items and DIY.
And don’t forget to take lots of screenshots of you and your islanders enjoying Festivale with heaps of confetti and endless dancing!
The seasons are changing! With Festivale comes a brand new season of events, colors, and fun.
If you want to know more about seasonal changes on your island, check out our guide on when the leaves change color and what that means for your island!