You’ve spent all of Spring and Summer sweating over parsnips and blueberries, and now the leaves are finally turning orange in Starlet Town. The Coral Island Fall Festival—formally known as the Harvest Festival—is easily the biggest highlight of the season. It isn’t just some cozy pixelated aesthetic moment. It's high stakes. If you aren’t prepared, Bobby from Beluga Bay is going to absolutely embarrass you in front of the whole town.
Seriously. Bobby is the worst.
The festival happens on the 15th of Fall. You’ll find the festivities kicking off at the lake area starting at 19:00. While there are several mini-games to play, the main event is the Harvest Display Contest. This is where the real drama happens. It’s a literal showdown of your farming prowess against your rival, and if you want those Merit Points and the sweet, sweet taste of victory, you need to start planning your inventory weeks in advance.
The Harvest Display: Don’t Let Bobby Win
The Harvest Display is the meat of the Fall Festival in Coral Island. You have six slots to fill. That’s it. Just six.
Most players make the mistake of just throwing their most expensive items into the bins and hoping for the best. That’s a one-way ticket to second place. The judging system is actually pretty technical. It calculates your score based on three specific criteria: the base price of the item, the quality (bronze, silver, gold, osmium), and the variety of categories you represent.
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To max out your points, you need to provide one item from six different categories. If you double up on vegetables, you’re leaving points on the table. The categories you should be aiming for include Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, Barn Products (like milk or eggs), Artisan Goods (mayonnaise, kimchi, juices), and Coops products or Forage.
Honestly, the "Artisan" category is your secret weapon. A gold-quality Fermented Goat Cheese or a high-value Large Pumpkin Juice can carry your entire score. If you’ve been neglecting your Mason Jars and Kegs, now is the time to get them running. You want items that have a base sell price of at least 400 coins to hit the top tier of the "price" score component. Osmium quality is the goal, obviously, but even a gold-tier Titan Arum or a Rare Black Truffle will put Bobby in his place.
Smashing Pumpkins and Other Distractions
While the display contest is the main draw, the mini-games are where you blow off steam. The Pumpkin Smashing game is exactly what it sounds like. You’re in a fenced-off area, and you need to whack as many pumpkins as possible within the time limit.
Pro tip: avoid the rotten ones. They slow you down and tank your score. It sounds simple, but when the timer is ticking and you’re in a rhythm, it’s easy to accidentally click a green, mushy pumpkin. Focus on the clusters. The game rewards efficiency over raw speed.
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Then there’s the Apple Bobbing. This one is a bit more divisive among the community because the controls can feel a little floaty. You’re competing against NPCs to grab apples out of a vat. The trick here is to watch the stamina bar and the bubbles. Don't just spam the interact button. If you mistime your grab, you’ll end up with nothing but a wet face and a lower rank. Winning these games nets you some festival tokens which you can spend at the dedicated shop.
What to Buy at the Festival Shop
Don’t just run home once the results of the Harvest Display are announced. The festival shop has items you literally cannot get anywhere else.
Usually, you’ll find seasonal seeds, but the real prizes are the decorative items. If you’re into the "farmcore" aesthetic, the Fall-themed lanterns and Scarecrows are must-haves. Sometimes, depending on your game version and progression, you might see rare stamina-boosting snacks or unique clothing items like the Spooky Pumpkin Head.
Check your Merit Points too. Winning the Harvest Display for the first time gives you a massive boost to your town rank progression. If you’re trying to hit Rank C or B to unlock better seeds for next year, this festival is your fastest shortcut.
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The Strategy for Year One vs. Year Two
Year one is tough. You probably don’t have Osmium-quality everything yet. If you’re in your first year, focus on variety over raw price. Get a gold-star Pumpkin (Vegetable), a Melon you saved from Summer (Fruit), a high-quality Mayonnaise (Artisan), a Large Egg (Barn), a Fairy Rose (Flower), and maybe a Shiitake Mushroom (Foraging).
By year two, the gloves come off. You should have the Greenhouse unlocked or at least some high-level automation. This is when you bring out the big guns. We’re talking Cactus Mead, Titan Arum Honey, or Kimchi made from your highest-value crops. Bobby’s score increases slightly in year two and three, so you can’t rest on your laurels. He’s going to bring his A-game, and his A-game is usually worth about 150-160 points. To safely beat him, aim for a total score of 180 or higher.
Common Mistakes That Will Cost You the Win
- Forgetting to take your items back: This is the big one. Once the festival ends, if you don't pick your six items up from the display bin, they don't just magically appear in your shipping bin or chest. They can be lost. Always interact with your display after the judging to reclaim your goods.
- Ignoring the "Price" Cap: Each category has a point cap. You don’t get extra points for an item being worth 5,000 coins versus 1,000 if they both hit the maximum point bracket for price. Diversify.
- Missing the Start Time: The festival starts late. If you spend the whole day mining and pass out at 20:00, you’ve missed it. Set an alarm or keep an eye on that clock.
The Coral Island Fall Festival is really a test of how well you’ve managed your farm throughout the year. It’s a reward for the players who didn't just sell everything immediately and kept a "trophy" stash in a chest by the house.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your chests immediately: Look for one high-quality item in each of the six categories: Vegetable, Fruit, Flower, Barn Product, Artisan Good, and Foraged Item/Coop Product.
- Process your best crops: If you have a high-value gold crop, don't enter it raw. Put it in a Keg or Jar to turn it into an Artisan Good, which almost always scores higher.
- Upgrade your seeds: If you are still days away from the 15th, head to the Lab and use your Kelp Essence to upgrade crop quality. This ensures that the stuff you harvest right before the festival has the best chance of being Osmium grade.
- Clear your inventory: Make sure you have six empty slots before heading to the lake so you can easily carry your winning items back home.