Dina Bader: It's almost time for Pavé and Festivale to come to Animal Crossing

Get ready to party!

Yet another year has come and gone with Animal Crossing Toy Day and New Year's firmly in the rearview mirror. Now it's time to turn our attention to the year's first in-game celebration found in the form of Festivale. Islanders are visited by Pavé, the fabulous peacock, who brings with him plenty of color, games, and cheer to light up the cold winter months. Here's everything you need to know about Animal Crossing Pavé and Festivale.

One of the reasons that Animal Crossing is one of the best Nintendo Switch games is because it allows us to celebrate real-world holidays and seasonal events in-game. To learn more about other festivities, check out the Animal Crossing events calendar.

When is Animal Crossing Festivale?

In previous games, Animal Crossing Festivale has taken place the day before real-world Mardi Gras. Since the real-life holiday shifts depending on the year, Festivale is celebrated in either February or March.

In 2021, Festivale will likely be on February 15th. However, it's possible that the in-game celebration could take place before then if Nintendo decided to change things up. We'll update as we learn more.

What is Festivale?

Pavé in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Festivale was first celebrated in Animal Crossing: City Folk. The festivities continued in New Leaf, and now it's time for the annual celebration to come to New Horizons. We don't know exactly what it will be like on Switch just yet, but the previous games give us an idea of what to expect.

In New Leaf, Festivale is marked by Pavé the Peacock appearing on your island and confetti falling from the sky. This fabulous bird sends players off to collect feathers. Some could be caught with a net as they float down alongside the confetti, while others needed to be won by playing games with villagers. If players collected the proper color and amount of feathers, then Pavé rewarded them with festive furniture and a dance.

Festivale games

Playing Charades with a villager in New Leaf.

In New Leaf, players could also experience a few games with their villagers, including Charades, Made Ya Look, and finally Rock, Paper, Scissors. If the player won any of these games, New Leaf villagers rewarded them with a feather.

Charades: Villagers say a few things and then emote to finish their sentences, then players select from a menu what they think their villager was hinting at.
Made Ya Look: Players got three chances to turn their heads the same way as the villager they were talking to.
Rock, Paper, Scissors: You select one of the three options from a menu before you and the villager you talk to shout out your choices. Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper.

We wouldn't be surprised if these games are also in New Horizons. We'll update as we learn more.

How do we know Pavé and Festivale are coming to New Horizons?

If you've been playing Animal Crossing for the last few generations, then you've probably noticed that some special characters and sometimes even their holidays get added or removed each time. So, how do we know for sure that Festivale and Pavé will be included in New Horizons?

Well, at the end of Nintendo's official Winter Update video, the above image appeared to let us know that another free update would be scheduled for late January and included the face of Pavé the peacock. Thus, we know that this fabulous bird will also be in New Horizons.

Will there be Festivale DIY recipes?

Nintendo hasn't revealed any Festivale DIY recipes yet, but considering that just about every other holiday throughout the year has had some, we thoroughly expect to see them come Festivale. We'll update as we learn more.

Animal Crossing Pavé & Festivale

It's time to celebrate the start of the new year with Festivale and our favorite fabulous peacock. Let us know if you're excited for the Festivale festivities in the comments below.