A rural village craftspeople prepare for the annual Harvest Festival. At the festival each craftsperson will present their proudest works to other members of the community as a symbol of gratitude, forgiveness, or apology.
During the day, you sit with an elder perfecting your craft and seeking advice from your peers about your personal life. At night, wander the cozy streets of the hamlet to visit with other villagers to put that advice into practice (for better or for worse). After the third day, we will celebrate the Harvest Festival and give away the things we created.
What
The Harvest Festival is a pastoral game about interpersonal conflict and support networks. Inspired by Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, join us to live out a hygge cottagecore fantasy for one afternoon.
Written by Marshall Bradshaw
Organized by Jon Cole
When
Saturday January 7th, 2023, from 1 to 4pm
Play Style
Characters in The Harvest Festival express gratitude, forgiveness, and apology with their crafts. In this game, you’ll be a part of interpersonal conflicts and a wider support network. The stakes are pretty low, despite relationship rupture and repair being an expected part of the experience.
Play is divided into 2 different phases, day and night. During the 15 minute day phase you fold origami to represent making artisanal handicrafts. You’ll have a tutorial to follow and the guidance of a mentor. While you fold, characters chat with their peers to seek advice, share gossip about the up-coming Harvest Festival, or start local drama.
At night, you have 20 minutes to play out scenes of your character outside of their typical work hours. Anyone can create a scene by posing a question to a character, gathering a few players to portray the necessary roles, and playing until you discover the answer to the question. Multiple scenes run concurrently, in an ad hoc freeform free for all.
Play consists of three days and three nights, followed by a final scene at the harvest festival itself.
You might like this game if…
- you want to play a character who learns and grows for the better.
- you enjoy cozy media about rural life.
- you can relax into a social game where periods of silence or awkwardness are totally fine.
Where
ECMN Offices, 1101 W Broadway Ave, Minneapolis MN 55411
Enter through the side door of ECMN on Emerson Ave.
Metro Transit routes 5, 14, 30, and 32 stop nearby. Small parking lot on site, street parking also available.
Tickets
Get a ticket by filling out the Harvest Festival registration form. Once you have a ticket you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play!
On the day of the event we request a pay-what-you-want goodwill cash donation ($5-$20 suggested) to support low-cost immersive scenarios in Minnesota. No one will be turned away if they do not make a donation.
Covid Policy
Attendees need to be covid vaccinated and boosted to the extent recommended by the CDC for their demographic group. Bring proof of your vaccination status for inspection during check in, which could be your card, a picture of it, a document on your phone, etc. Our policy means that for most people, you will need the most recent bivalent booster by December 26, 2022 or we will turn you away at the door. Please reach out if you have any questions about this.
N95 masks or better are required, and we will have a few to share. We will be playing in a large and well ventilated room. If you have any symptoms of covid, stay home. If you are able to, take a rapid test before arrival.
Other Information
Accessibility
Our venue is in the basement and climate-controlled. The building is ADA compliant. Our playspace has plenty of seating. There are two gendered restrooms in the playspace, and two gender-neutral restrooms available on the ground floor.
Water will be available, and we recommend bringing a water bottle for your ease of access. No food will be provided.
Costuming
No costuming needed. If you want to wear something that makes you feel like a rural artisan, go right ahead.
Social
After the event some folks will get food together to continue to hang out at Maya Cuisine. Hanging out afterwards is totally optional, and we think it’s fun to get to know your fellow players as people, not just as their characters. Folks who didn’t attend the event are welcome to attend this part.
Contact
Contact us with any questions or concerns!
Image credits: Annie Spratt, Anne Nygård, rocknwool, Edgar Castrejon
One Reply to “Larp House Presents: The Harvest Festival”