Stardew Valley Festival of Ice: Times, Fishing Contest, and Prize Guide

Winter in Pelican Town has more going on than crop dormancy and the occasional snowball. Among the season's annual gatherings sits the Festival of Ice, a short midwinter event built around a fishing contest, a one-day shop, and a few decorations you cannot grab anywhere else. Here is what to expect, when to show up, and what is actually worth your time.

When the Festival of Ice Happens

The Festival of Ice runs once a year on Winter 8, and the window is short: drop into Cindersap Forest, directly south of the farm, at any point between 9 AM and 2 PM. An on-screen banner will let you know the festival has opened, in case you forget which morning it is (and you will, that is half the appeal of farming sims). When the day wraps up, the game returns you to your farm bed at 10 PM automatically, so do not worry about racing back before nightfall.

This is also one of the four official winter festivals introduced through Update 1.6.

The Fishing Contest

The headline activity is a fishing competition you run against three NPCs: Elliott, Willy, and Pam. The objective is simple. Catch at least five fish before any of them do. In multiplayer worlds, your friends on the same server can join the same contest, which mostly raises the stakes and the trash talk.

The first time you win, you walk away with a Magnet, a Sailor's Cap, a Barbed Hook Tackle, and a Dessert Spinner Tackle. After that initial victory, every subsequent win pays out in Prize Tickets instead. Those tickets get spent at the Prize Machine parked in front of Mayor Lewis's house, which trades them for furniture, cosmetics, and other oddities.

If you have struggled with fishing throughout your save, this is a low-pressure place to practice. Losing the contest costs nothing.

Festival of Ice Shop

Unlike most other Stardew festivals, this one has only a single stall. It is run by the Traveling Merchant, so part of the inventory is randomized day to day, true to the NPC's nature. The permanent stock, however, is reliable. These items show up at every Festival of Ice and are usually the reason most players bother visiting:

• Frozen Dreams: 2,000g
• Cranberry Sauce: 200g
• Icy Banner: 800g
• Icy Rug: 4,000g
• Pumpkin Soup: 250g
• Rarecrow: 5,000g
• Stuffing: 200g
• Tree of the Winter Star: 5,000g
• Wall Sconce: 1,000g
• Wallpaper: 500g
• Winter Dining Table: 3,000g
• Winter End Table: 1,000g

The Rarecrow is the standout pickup for collectors working toward the full set, and the Tree of the Winter Star is one of the few ways to grab a holiday centerpiece outside the Feast of the Winter Star itself.

That is the whole event in a nutshell. Show up on Winter 8, throw a line, grab whatever is on the merchant's stand, and head home before bedtime catches up with you.