Festivals and special events

Equestria has a full and active social culture. Most ponies seem to have little trouble finding time to chat, work and play with their friends. The ponies of Equestria seem to need little excuse to have a party.



Grand Galloping Gala
The Gala is an annual event held at Canterlot. Attendance requires a ticket, as seen in the episode The Ticket Master. Twilight receives two tickets from Princess Celestia and consequently has her friends vying for the extra ticket. At the night of the gala, all the flowers in Canterlot's private garden are in bloom.

The gala is shown only as Rarity imagines it in The Ticket Master, as a formal event with ponies wearing dress attire. The making of gowns for the gala is the instigator of the plot for Suited for Success.

Summer Sun Celebration
Held the day of (and the night before) the longest day of the year, also called summer solstice, the Summer Sun Celebration was, for a thousand years, also a counterpoint to Nightmare Moon's attempt to invoke everlasting night. Having Princess Celestia attend a community's Celebration day is an honor, as she is the one credited with raising the sun every morning.

In order to be awake for dawn, ponies will typically hold a party the night before, continuing at least until sunrise.

An interrupted Summer Sun Celebration is depicted in the episode "Friendship is Magic, part 1."

Running of the Leaves
Ponyville's annual Running of the Leaves is a combined race and community chore. Prizes are awarded for the winners of the race, but the true purpose is to have the hoof beats of the racers shake the autumn leaves from the trees around town. It's assumed that other communities employ magic for this task instead.

The race covers a long path, and therefore should be considered an endurance contest. Proper pacing is important, particularly as a tired racer will not produce the necessary level of shaking to clear all the trees.

Running of the Leaves is depicted in the episode "Fall Weather Friends."

Winter Wrap up
To make way for spring, Equestrians must clear away the snow, ice, and clouds of winter. This allows them to bring back warm weather birds and plant needed crops, and is the centeral plot of the episode Winter Wrap Up. Spike mentions that in Canterlot, ponies employ magic to bring the spring, but as Ponyville was founded by Earth ponies, they rely on little more than hoof power and pegasi wings, as is traditional in their town.

The mayor of Ponyville mentions the "scandal" that ensued from previous failures to prepare for spring in a timely manner, for the past several Winter Wrap Ups before the one in the episode. This changed when Twilight Sparkle lent her organizational skills to the effort.

Pinkie Pie

 * Main article: Pinkie Pie

The earth pony Pinkie Pie is a master party-thrower. With less than a day's notice, she's thrown parties for Twilight Sparkle and Gilda. She's also suggested parties after the defeat of Nightmare Moon and Applejack stopping a stampede. She (or at least Sugarcube Corner) also hosted a cute-ceañera.

Annual Rabbit Roundup
This event was mentioned by Fluttershy in Applebuck Season, in which they go around and take a census of all the new bunnies born that year. Applejack was asked to help, but accidentally caused a stampede of rabbits, much to the chagrin of the citizens of Ponyville.

Best Young Flyer competition
A pegasus flying competition held in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash competes in this competition in Sonic Rainboom. The Wonderbolts act as judges and Princess Celestia awards a tiara to the winner.

Cute-ceañera
A cute-ceañera is a party held for a young pony who has just received her cutie mark. Fancy dress does not seem required. The event borrows its name and purpose from the Latin American quinceañera, a coming-of-age party for teenage girls. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's cute-ceñera is seen in Call of the Cutie.

Slumber parties
Twilight Sparkle holds her first slumber party in Look Before You Sleep. While normally a very informal event, there is a book titled "Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask." Twilight and her two friends engage in much the same activities as are held in real slumber parties: makeovers, pillow fights, Truth or Dare, Twenty Questions, and eating snacks.

Iron Pony competition
An Iron Pony cometition is held in Fall Weather Friends. A new games stadium popped up on Sweet Apple Acres, which started originally as a small friendly challenge of minor atheletic feats. Thanks to the efforts of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, the small area set aside grew to great size complete with scoring board, stadium seats and arenas for all sorts of contest. By the end of it, it had gathered a sizable crowd of spectators, marveling at the competitions held between Applejack and Raibow Dash.

Presentations
As seen in Applebuck Season, when Ponyville wants to honor someone, they make an event of it. The pavilion in the town square is well-suited for this.

Storm preparations
Storm preparations are depicted at the beginning of the episode Look Before You Sleep. Rarity and Applejack are seen aiding in these preparations, as well as Derpy and other background ponies. Breaking loose branches off of trees is depicted as the main activity.