Harvest Festival (S3E7)

It's a festival of massive proportion on today's episode, when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang recap S3E7 of Parks and Recreation. In "Harvest Festival" the day before the fest, a local Native American leader places a "curse" on the event because Leslie refuses to give in to his demands. On today's episode find out what happens when the entire town of Pawnee comes together, the origin of Li'l Sebastian, we get to the bottom of the Matchbox 20 / Rachel Ray mystery, and why a drone shot was necessary for worldbuilding. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: [email protected] Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992
 

With the Harvest Festival days away, Leslie surprises everyone by booking Li’l Sebastian, a miniature horse and legendary Pawnee celebrity. Everyone is thrilled except Ben, who doesn't understand the fascination. The chief of the local Wamapoke tribe, Ken Hotate (Jonathan Joss), visits the Parks department and requests the Harvest Festival be moved, as it is built upon the site of a Wamapoke massacre. When Leslie explains it is too late, Ken warns them the festival may become cursed, although he privately tells the documentary crew that he knows white people are terrified of curses.
 

Ann works the Harvest Festival first aid tent, where she confides in Donna that she has not taken the break-up with Chris well. April tells Andy that she loves him, but grows angry when he replies, "Dude, shut up! That is awesomesauce!" Joan Callamezzo arrives to report on the festival and is determined to find a negative story, although she does show excitement over Li'l Sebastian. She initially fails to find a scandal, but then overhears Leslie and Ben discussing the curse. It becomes the focus of her story, especially after Tom tells Leslie that Li'l Sebastian escaped his pen. Tom blames Jerry, although it was entirely Tom's fault.
 

The Pawnee media swarms the festival to cover the curse, endangering its opening the next day with the bad press, with one reporter likening Ben's past as a failed teen mayor with the curse. Now believing himself to be the curse, Ben leaves the festival. As Leslie reassures the reporters there is no curse, the power generator blows out, leaving the festival dark and stranding most of the parks department on a Ferris wheel. Using the blackout as an excuse, Ann takes Donna's advice to make out with Kiley (Joey Russo), her dumb but attractive patient.
 

On the Ferris wheel, with April and Andy arguing below him and Tom and Jerry arguing above him, an annoyed Ron clears the air by announcing the obvious: April is mad at Andy for not telling her that he loves her back, and the missing Li'l Sebastian is Tom's fault. Andy tells April that he clearly loves her and they hug, and Tom apologizes to Jerry. Later, everyone spots Li'l Sebastian in the corn maze and they recover him. Leslie learns the power outage was due to television crews plugging into the grid and overloading it. The only replacement generator in Pawnee is at the Wamapoke casino, and Leslie humbly asks Ken to loan it to her in exchange for placing a Wamapoke cultural exhibit near the Harvest Festival entrance. Ken agrees, and during the festival opening the next morning, he performs a meaningless ceremony to remove the fake curse.
 

People begin to swarm into the festival, and Leslie cheerfully greets them. Ben returns to apologize to Leslie for leaving, admitting that he is not over his past. She reassures him the festival is as much his accomplishment as hers, and even has Ken break Ben's "curse", although Ken's gesture is also completely meaningless. At the end, Ben appears to have been won over by Li'l Sebastian, but admits to the camera crew that he still fails to see the appeal and remains as baffled as ever.