My Stardew Journey // A Day at the Fair

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Fall 16

Yesterday morning, I received a note in the mail from the mayor reminding me about the fair the next day. I knew it was coming, but I had still completely forgotten about it!

The biggest reason I was glad for the reminder was that it gave me enough time to round up a few items for my grange display. All the businesses in town were able to participate in a small contest to show off some of their quality products. Even though my farm isn’t exactly a “business,” I was still allowed to create my own display.

So, I spent the entirety of my Monday rounding up the best produce, forage, and other items that I could find. I wanted to try and get some variety, so I went for all sorts of classifications.

Today was the day of the fair, and I’ve gotta say, there was a lot more to it than I expected! There were all sorts of tents and stands set up, and there were a lot of people from out of town that had come to visit.

I went straight for the grange display first thing, and I arranged my stuff the best I could think to. I was sandwiched between Pierre and Marnie, and I have to it, they had some pretty impressive arrangements themselves. I was a little nervous, but also pretty proud of how mine looked.

While I waited for the judging to take place, I decided to explore just a little. There was a big seating area, and Gus was cooking up barbecue like you wouldn’t believe. Elliott and I tried to work out what could possibly be in that secret sauce, but I don’t think we came close to guessing, and Gus wouldn’t budge.

There was a big animal pen, too. Shane was all over that area. He’s really got a soft spot for animals. It’s neat to see.

We of course hung out quite a bit. We stuck around to pet the animals, then we walked around town together for a while. He seemed really cheerful today, which I was overjoyed to see.

In fact, Shane’s almost seemed like a new person these past few weeks. Well, maybe not a new person, but rather the person he really is. He’s done well staying away from drinking, and it sounds like his mental health is going in the right direction.

Not to mention, he’s been going out of his way to talk to me a lot more often. It’s funny, really. Our first impression didn’t give me any sort of clue about where we’d end up, and yet here we are.

I really like it.

Eventually, Jas called Shane over to help her with one of the games, so I wandered off once more. A little ways separate from the rest of the activities was a fortune teller’s tent. I’ve always been skeptical of these sort of things, but I thought back to some of the wondrous sights I’ve seen since coming to the valley… so I decided to give it a shot.

Most of what she said was fairly predictable. She alluded to some things I already knew, like my friendship with Emily and my growing skills on the farm. But then she said something else, and I’m still not sure what to think about it…

She mentioned that she saw me on the farm, and that there was someone with me. A young man, to be exact, helping me out on the farm. She couldn’t give me much detail, but she said his name started with an “S.”

So. Yeah. That happened.

oh my gosh is it shane i hope its shane oh my gosh

After that, I decided to check out the games. There were several, and I was ittedly pretty bad at most of them. I had bad luck with the roulette wheel, and with the slingshot tent… frankly, I sucked. The fishing tent, however? I RULED. It was like I had been training for that moment all these months in the valley.

I racked up star tokens like you wouldn’t BELIEVE.

After a few rounds of that, the grange displays had finally been judged. Believe it or not, I actually won! I was so excited, and I received several words of congratulations from friends. On top of that, I received a ton of star tokens as a reward.

I took my pile of tokens to the prize tent, and when I saw the prizes, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Among the snacks, decor, and funny hats, there was a STARDROP.

I’ve only ever heard rumors about stardrops, and now here was one, right in front of me.

Obviously, I handed over my star tokens and got my hands on that thing right then and there.

The taste… it was indescribable. It was even better than I ever could have imagined. And… I swear, there was something more to it than just a good flavor. I felt AMAZING after eating that thing. I just can’t explain it.

With the rest of my star tokens, I bought a fedora.

Anyway, the fair was easily my favorite festival so far. I can’t wait for next year!

Should I tell Shane about the fortune thing?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Rocking a fresh funny hat,

~Maddie

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