Popoto Street Fanfest
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
🗨
WHAT
Popoto Street Fanfest started as a way to bring players together in tandem with the live FFXIV Fanfest event. Every year since, our goal is to bring players together and uplift the Lalafell community, regardless of a tandem IRL event!We show off the talent, performers, and many creative venues across our greater community. For 2027, we want to take a page out of some of our dearest event hosts' books and use Fanfest to also raise money for an important cause. Stay tuned for more details on this as we set things up! We hope you'll celebrate with us!
⧗
WHEN
Our festival is held every year in the summertime. The event begins with a parade that caps at the Kugane Tower jump puzzle for a dash of chaos before the market street opens to players.Look out for big announcements around late spring for the next event in 2027!
Parade: 11 AM PT
(2 PM ET | 1 PM CT | 6 PM UTC)
Tower Jump Puzzle: 11:30 AM PT
(2:30 PM ET | 1:30 PM CT | 6:30 PM UTC)
Market Opens: Noon PT
(3 PM ET | 2 PM CT | 7 PM UTC)
Bards on Deck: 12:30 PM PT
(3:30 PM ET | 2:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM UTC)
DJs in the Hot Springs: 1 PM PT
(4 PM ET | 3 PM CT | 8 PM UTC)
Fight Ring: 2 PM PT
(5 PM ET | 4 PM CT | 9 PM UTC)
Glam Contest: 3 PM PT
(6 PM ET | 5 PM CT | 10 PM UTC)
✈
Where
Every year we host the Popoto Street Fanfest in the Rakuza District of Kugane. The data center and server changes to accommodate as many players as we can.For sprouts, this means your character needs to be at least in Stormblood, with access to the main city Kugane. (Up to MSQ "The Man from Ul'dah".)
‼ Festival Rules ‼
Please keep /shout chat clear for festival staff! We expect some chaotic screaming during the jump puzzle, though.
This is a SFW event for smalls and talls alike! Please no ERP or inappropriate behavior in front of others - consent matters!
Please be respectful of participants and guests. No hate or harassment is allowed.
This event is for all play styles! You can RP, AFK, and/or enjoy with friends/solo casually.
Trades requiring gil, RP/fake exchanges, or other materials are up to the discretion of the vendors. Please respect their policies.
The deck is large and open to all, but please give the bards space to perform. You can move your camera for proximity sound if you have trouble hearing them from where you are!
Don't stand on the staged deck at the hot springs with the DJs and their crew, unless you've been welcomed up with them.
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
Popoto Street Fanfest
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
Want to join the lineup?
If you want to be one of the vendors, bards, or artists at Popoto Street Fanfest 2027, please use the form below. We love our tall friends, but we do try to prioritize space to smolls first, so if you don't get into the lineup as a tall, please know it's not personal. Some years we do have a mixture!Participants are asked to join our planning Discord server, where we can help provide announcements to all our partners and keep things organized well in advance of the event. Planning begins around the start of spring, and we will begin opening the Discord up to participants then.We are so very grateful for all the friends, affiliates, and talent who have joined us year after year. And we're excited to see what you want to bring to Fanfest!
All tips and profits earned by our participants are theirs to keep. We do not charge for participation.If your services/talent requires payment from festival staff to join us, please disclose that in the form.We also ask that all participating venues please disclose if you have multiple services you want to offer (for example a cafe with artists).
What we're looking for
🛠
Venues
We have several NPC vendor stalls that we use for the event in Rakuza District. If you'd like to be one, we're looking for cafes, restaurants, taverns, specialty SFW services, and crafting guilds.
♫
Bards
The bards perform on the deck overlooking the Ruby Sea at the end of the district (near the hot springs). If you're signing up, be prepared for either a Battle of the Bards event or rotating concert of talented lalas!
✎
Artists
The artists will be stationed along the market street alongside the vendors. We are interested in folks who might run giveaways, do quick sketch commissions, or perhaps host a collaborative art stream.
♠
Game Masters
If you run gamba or enjoy hosting games and raffles, let us know what your service is and what you're interested in hosting! There are plenty of spaces for you in the street and in one of our platformed areas.
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
Popoto Street Fanfest
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
⛐
CHOCOBO STABLING
Popoto Street Fanfest offers free chocobo stabling across Kugane, with an additional fee for overnight stabling.Valet services are not available. If you see someone offering to stable your chocobo for a fee, they are not associated with our organization. Beware of scams.Chocobo and other mounts not accessible on festival grounds.
☻
KNOW THE TEAM
Participants and performers across the festival will be using the Looking to Meld symbol (left).The organizing staff will be using the Party Finder symbol (right).
If you need help finding our talent among the sea of attendees, keep an eye out for these symbols! Organizing staff are around to help answer questions!
★
SECURITY INFO
These Lalafell are here to protect attendees and keep order during any moments of chaos--because let's face it, it's not a Lala party without some chaos. If you do legitimately need help, any Fanfest organizers and LSS members can assist!
🠞
PLAN AHEAD
If your home Data Center and/or Server is not our hosting region for this year's festival, we recommend travelling ahead of time to avoid congestion and queue delays.Each year we try to choose a server that will avoid heavy traffic, but it's a worthwhile precaution to take before any large event.
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
Popoto Street Fanfest
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
Maps
We've got a ton of stuff planned for Popoto Street Fanfest, so get ready to join us for another fantastic festival! Use the info below to find your way around the festival. Lurk, spend time with friends, go solo, RP, be casual, peruse the vendors, and enjoy some great music. We love lighting up Rakuza with you year after year!
Parade route & details
Each year, our friends the Anklebiters host the Popoto Street Fanfest. Parade leaders march folks around Kugane making a loud fuss in the city and causing a scene. Folks will begin to line up early, and you're encouraged to come by and spend time with friends, AFK, and emote while we all prepare for the festivities to begin!Attendees will march in their festival glams starting at Pier #2, through the market, and back down the back streets of the city, finishing things off at the Kugane Tower. There, our bravest WOL will take on the jump puzzle.Don't be alarmed if you hear loud splats as gravity takes hold. There will be plenty of Blue Mage support to keep everyone lively and ready to defeat the tower on their second, third, or hundredth try.The screams and fun will continue at the Tower until the market opens and the rest of the festival begins!
The glam theme is TBA! (You don't have to have a glam to participate.)
There will be designated stops for group photos! Feel free to take as many pics as you want.
Participation in the parade is not required, but folks might not be ready in the market until closer to opening (noon PT).
Please respect the Anklebiters and parade goers during this leg of the event. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to festival staff.Join everyone at 11 AM PT for another fantastic parade!
market street & festival details
Market opens at Noon PT!
The market is pack full of activities! There's something for everyone at Popoto Street Fanfest in an accessible NPC area for those who have made it through the appropriate MSQ chain in Stormblood.Features included:
Giveaways sponsored by community affiliates
Gamba, food, crafting, and RP vendors from a variety of venues
Artists offering raffles and commissions
An event photographer
An RP fight club experience (RP experience not required)
Bards on the deck overlooking the ruby sea
DJ concert in the hot springs, featuring three amazing Lala DJs (brought to you by our friends at LALAPOP!)
Glam contest (hosted by the wonderful Lalafellowship)
Quiet zone for folks feeling overstimulated
our DJs & bards
Each year we spotlight three Lalafell DJs to perform in the Bokaisen Hot Springs. Performers take the deck, and attendees dance and splash around in the springs.Each performance is also livestreamed on the DJs' channels, so if you want to enjoy the rest of the festival and not miss their sets, you can tune in from a second screen!
2027 DJ lineup
[TBD DJ NAME] 1 PM PT
(4 PM ET | 3 PM CT | 8 PM UTC)
[TBD DJ NAME] 2 PM PT
(5 PM ET | 4 PM CT | 9 PM UTC)
[TBD DJ NAME] 3 PM PT
(6 PM ET | 5 PM CT | 10 PM UTC)
Just before the DJs begin their set, the bards take their stage on the deck overlooking the Ruby Sea. Ready for a full day of music?This year we're bringing back Battle of the Bards with a new roundup of amazing talent!
2027 Battle of the Bards
[TBD BARD NAME]
[TBD BARD NAME]
[TBD BARD NAME]
[TBD BARD NAME]
[TBD BARD NAME]
[TBD BARD NAME]
Battle of the Bards begins at 12:30 PM PT!
[DC] > [Server] > Kugane > Rakuza District
