Although there are many games that have festival events, Stardew Valley's festivals are particularly unique. As one of many Pelican Town festivals, the Night Market gives the townsfolk the chance to participate in different activities once a year. During the winter, players can look forward to this special event that lights up the night sky around the coast of Stardew Valley with colorful boats and a variety of shops.
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Since the festival takes place at the beach, it's not possible to forage the beach and check crab pots on the days which it occurs. However, it is possible to still fish, thankfully. What kind of boat-centric festival wouldn't allow you to fish?
10 When Does It Start?
The Night Market is a festival that actually lasts for 3 days. It begins on the 15th day of Winter and ends on the 17th. During these 3 days, players can attend the festival between 5 pm and 2 am. This is the only festival in Stardew Valley in which the day actually occurs normally.
Unlike what happens during most other festivals, shops and homes are open and farm animals need to be fed as the game will not automatically consider them fed during the Night Market festival.
9 Desert Trader
The Desert Trader is an NPC in Stardew Valley. She has a shop in the Calico Desert, and does not yield items for gold. Instead of accepting gold, she will only trade her items for other items, a more traditional bartering system.
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Between the 15th and the 17th of Winter, the Desert Trader cannot be found in the Calico Desert in her usual shop. She will actually be at the Night Market that day instead. The Desert Trader will offer a cup of coffee to all of those that speak to her, and players receive a maximum of a cup per night.
8 Decoration Boat
The Decoration Boat is one of the Night Market's main shops. Here, visitors can purchase decorations for their farm and home. They can buy an unlimited amount of things, these items are only aesthetic and serve no actual in-game purpose other than as decoration.
Although there are items that can be bought during other festivals, the Decoration Boat is the only vendor that sells candy decorations for the holidays.
7 Famous Painter
There is a famous painter named Lupini that comes to the Night Market, and each night he will paint something different. These paintings are purely decorative, and each one costs 1,200 gold.
However, players that miss out on one of the Night Market's nights should know that if they don't buy that painting, it won't be available again for 3 years. There are actually 9 different paints available from Lupini, they will rotate over a 3-year period, so it's best to visit each night to grab the painting to avoid having to wait so long.
6 Fishing Submarine
The Fishing Submarine attraction has a captain in it that takes players on a deep-sea fishing tour. The tour will cost 1,000 gold.
It is important to note that there are 3 fish in the game that can only be caught on the deep-sea fishing tour during the Night Market festival event. These include the Midnight Squid, Blobfish, and Spook Fish. The submarine takes around 30 in-game minutes to descend and ascend. So, since time doesn't stop during this festival, it's important to account for the trip when fishing. This attraction closes earlier, however, at exactly 11 pm.
5 Magic Shop Boat
The Magic Shop Boat is a creepy and cool shop available at the Night Market. There will be different stock every night during the festival's 3 days.
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The shop sells decorative items, seeds, exclusive items, a unique fireplace, and a unique hat. More specifically, the items are the Iridium Fireplace, which costs 15,000 gold, and the Cone Hat, which costs 5,000 gold on the first night of the festival, 2,500 gold on the second night, and 10,000 gold on the third night.
4 Mermaid Boat
The Mermaid Boat is only open from 5 pm to 12:30 am. Once the player enters the boat, a mermaid will sing to them. Her performance will last 1 hour and 40 minutes, and once the show is over, there will be 5 shells that players can interact with to reproduce notes. If played in the right order, the player receives a reward.
To avoid getting the sequence wrong, players can find out the correct sequence by finding Secret Note #15. However, the tune is also heard during The Mermaid Show.
3 Traveling Cart
The Traveling Cart is a shop in Stardew Valley that shows up every Friday and Sunday. The Merchant will often sell items that are out of season, which is particularly useful because it can help players that are trying to complete the Community Center bundles.
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Update 1.3 made it so the Traveling Cart would make an appearance during the Night Market festival. The Merchant sells them the same items she usually sells, meaning players will be able to purchase items like the Wedding Ring recipe during the Night Market festival nights.
2 Possible To Complete Quests
Villagers attend the Night Market festival throughout the 3 nights in which it occurs. The first night is when there will more attendees and the number will decline further each night.
Accepting requests from the bulletin board in Pelican Town or quest missions prior to the Night Market event is no problem because players will still be able to complete them. Even if the villager that made the request is at the festival when the player wants to complete the quest, there is no problem. Initiating a conversation with them will first complete the quest and then the festival conversation will follow.
1 Leaving The Festival
Since during the Night Market, time keeps passing by, it comes in handy to have a quick way to return home before passing out. If the player passes out outside their home, they will lose 10% of their gold, losing up to 1,000 gold.
At the festival, there is actually a Shrouded Figure that can help players with this if they're running late. This Shrouded Figure allows players to teleport themselves to their farms for a mere 250g. So, getting distracted by the shops at the Night Market isn't that big of a deal when they can easily teleport home.