Turkey Day (named the Harvest Festival prior to New Horizons) happens once a year on Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November).
The event has changed across different generations of the Animal Crossing series on which it is available on. In the latest installment, New Horizons, the player's job is to collect the listed ingredients to create the four-course feast so that they can be given exclusive crafting recipes. The required ingredients change depending on the island's hemisphere.
Prior to New Leaf, the event features a feastful festival but with an ethical conundrum between Franklin the turkey and Tortimer over claims of violating turkey rights, and it's the player's job to gain the trust of Franklin while attempting to make Tortimer happy.
In New Leaf and New Horizons, however, Franklin becomes a special chef guest, and the player's job is to obtain sufficient ingredients to create an excellent four-course feast.
Events
Prior to New Leaf
Outside the Wishing Well in Animal Crossing, banquet tables will be set up which are decorated with plates filled with food and wine glasses which can't be interacted with (save Knife and Forks). In City Folk, the banquet tables are set up in front of the Town Hall.
During the Harvest Festival, Franklin the turkey makes an appearance, and when he is found for the first time he will explain that Tortimer had sent him a letter of invitation to be a special "guest" at the celebration, however Franklin notices that underneath the word guest, a faded, half-erased word reading "dish" can be seen. When Franklin meets Tortimer he soon understands the truth and flees the scene posthaste.
Franklin will hide behind obstacles (such as trees, houses, and signs) and after discussing his scheme, he will request and wait for the player to bring him pieces of silverware from the banquet. For each piece they bring, they will receive one piece of furniture from the Harvest Series, including the wallpaper and the matching carpet.
Villagers will often hint about Franklin's location.
Franklin is unusual among Animal Crossing residents and visitors in that he is entirely static; instead, Franklin will appear in his hiding place and will disappear soon after the player moves the camera out of view when he has been given a set of silverware, and can be noticed by some because the screen shutters, but it's barely noticeable.
While in one hiding place, Franklin will only accept one "knife and fork" set at a time, so if the player wishes to give him another they must move away from the hiding place until Franklin disappears, and search for him again.
In New Leaf
The completed Harvest Festival Feast in New Leaf.
When the player starts the game, Isabelle will announce that the Harvest Festival is today. Franklin the turkey will be waiting near the town tree, along with a big table with numerous kitchen objects. He asks the player if they want to help him fetch some ingredients for his courses. These include a salad, soup, main course and dessert. For these four courses the player will need to gather three ingredients and one secret ingredient. The player can find most of them by themselves, like fish, fruit, and mushrooms, but they will also need special things from the residents, like vinegar, flour etc. The player can only get these from the animals that are at home, provided that the player gives them what they want and need for their own cooking (most of the time it's fish). They will then also give the player hints and tips about cooking and the secret ingredient that goes well with a certain type of dish. Villagers will grant the player with any missing ingredients from the players inventory. Deliver everything to Franklin and he will start cooking the meal. In return he will give the player Harvest furniture or a fruit basket. If the player gets all the four secret ingredients right, he will give them a cornucopia at the end.
Ingredients and Secret Ingredients
Note: The names of some dishes vary depending on what country the player is in.
| Name | Alt Name | Ingredients | Secret Ingredient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salads | |||
| Fish Salad | horse mackerel, red snapper, vinegar | Lemon | |
| Fruit Salad | apple, orange, vinegar | Beehive | |
| Mixed Salad | horse mackerel, skinny mushroom, apple | Vinegar | |
| Mushroom Salad | flat mushroom, round mushroom, vinegar | Apple | |
| Oyster Salad | oyster, seaweed, vinegar | Lemon | |
| Soups | |||
| Fruit Soup | cherry, milk, peach | Lemon | |
| Mushroom Bisque | Mushroom Stew | flat mushroom, milk, round mushroom | Butter |
| Shellfish Chowder | Shellfish Cream Soup | milk, clam, scallop | Butter |
| Bouillabaise | Soup de Poisson | olive flounder, red snapper, sea bass | Lemon |
| Tom Yum Kung | Tom Yoong Goong | lobster, skinny mushroom, vinegar | Coconut |
| Main Courses | |||
| Seared Barred Knifejaw | Barred Knifejaw Sauté | barred knifejaw, round mushroom, butter | Lemon |
| Pan-Fried Dab | Dab Meunière | dab, skinny mushroom, flour | Vinegar |
| Pan-Fried Olive Flounder | Olive Flounder Meunière | olive flounder, flat mushroom, flour | Vinegar |
| Pan-Fried Red Snapper | Red Snapper Poele | red snapper, skinny mushroom, flour | Lemon |
| Sautéed Sea Bass | Sea Bass Sauté | butter, sea bass, round mushroom | Lemon |
| Desserts | |||
| Apple Pie | apple, lemon, flour | Beehive | |
| Banana Tart | Banana Custard Pie | banana, lemon, sugar | Beehive |
| Cherry Pie | flour, cherry, lemon | Beehive | |
| Coconut Tart | Coconut Cream Pie | coconut, lemon, sugar | Beehive |
| Mixed-Fruit Pie | Full Fruit Pie | butter, orange, pear | Lemon |
In New Horizons
The Harvest Festival, now known as Turkey Day, was added in the 1.6.0 Free Winter Update. On Turkey Day, a feast is set up in the Event Plaza from 9 AM to 12 AM. Franklin the NPC in charge, will ask the player for help in gathering ingredients to assist him in preparing the feast. In return he will grant the player with four items that cannot be crafted.
Each of the dishes require specific ingredients to accompany it. In return this yields different items for each of the four dishes that are complete. Afterwards the player will have the option of giving Franklin a secret ingredient, after all the recipes are complete. Overall, the player will receive one of the three items inspired for Thanksgiving along with the rest of the DIYs.
Similar to New Leaf, players continue the exact process in gathering required ingredients from their villagers. Villagers can each provide information of a missing ingredient in exchange for a specific type of fish, to finish their cooking. Each of the villagers in their homes will be dressed in a chef's uniform, and when they receive their missing ingredient, they will join everyone else at the plaza. Unlike New Leaf, there are no ingredients that can only ever be gathered from villagers (such as vinegar), because all required ingredients can be gathered normally as usual.
Ingredients and Secret Ingredients
| Name | Ingredients | Secret Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salads | |||
|
North:
South:
|
Dungeness Crab | |
| Soups | |||
|
3x manilla clam (North and South) | Scallop | |
| Main Courses | |||
North:
South:
|
Barred Knifejaw | ||
| Desserts | |||
| Pumpkin Pie | Orange Pumpkin. Either a Green, White, or Yellow Pumpkin. (North and South) | The two pumpkin colors not previously requested. | |
Gallery
Animal Crossing
Animal Forest e+
City Folk
New Leaf
New Horizons
Trivia
- In New Leaf, during the Harvest Festival, no new projects or town ordinances can be started. Isabelle will suggest that the mayor takes the day off to enjoy the festivities.
“Oh! You wanted to work on official mayoral business today? But what about today's event? We can't sit here in this stuffy office building while the rest of the town is enjoying the festivities! It's not healthy to work so much, Mayor! Why don't you just take the day off instead?”
― Isabelle
- Likewise, the player is unable to work for Brewster at The Roost during the Harvest Festival.
- In New Horizons, the tableware for southern hemisphere players is colored green for spring, while in the northern hemisphere the tableware is colored orange for fall.
