In season three of “Parks and Recreation,” Leslie Knope works on the Harvest Festival to bring money to Pawnee. The event is a revived local tradition whose success could save the Parks Department from severe budget cuts.
Pawnee is facing a financial crisis, and state auditors threaten major reductions to city services. Leslie stakes the department’s future on attracting visitors and revenue through the festival, turning the project into one of the season’s central story arcs.
The storyline begins in the season-three premiere, “Go Big or Go Home,” and culminates in the episode “Harvest Festival,” the seventh episode of the season. The festival includes food, games, entertainment, and the beloved miniature horse Li’l Sebastian.
The episode also features a supposed Wamapoke curse, a missing Li’l Sebastian, and a media scandal involving Joan Callamezzo. In real production, the festival scenes were filmed at Los Angeles Pierce College rather than on a purpose-built set. The episode originally aired on NBC on March 17, 2011.