The Ewok Festival of Love returns to the Star Wars Galaxies beginning February 10, 2011! Here's a sneak preview of this year's festival. We'll be sharing more teasers next week!

Ewoks and the Festival of Love

Ewoks are the primary native civilization on the Forest Moon of Endor. They are a small race of furry humanoids that live in treetop villages, or in some cases, in homes built on stilts by the lakeshores. The trees of the forest provide not only physical shelter to the Ewoks, but also give the tribe a sense of protection as the trees watch over them. The two tribes of Ewoks are called Gondula and Panshee.

The "evil form" of the Ewoks, Duloks, are ill-proportioned cousins featuring fangs and large, pointed ears. Like the Ewoks, they are also native to the Forest Moon of Endor. Donkuwah is the main tribe of Duloks.

Long ago, a reptilian species was stranded on the Forest Moon of Endor. These Marauders, as they are known, have been living there ever since, attacking visitors to the planet. They are enemies of the Ewoks and Duloks. They are a warlike society and scavenge any technology they can find.

Known for their ritualistic behavior, Ewoks celebrate their beliefs and practices through several festivals throughout the year. The Festival of Love is an event celebrated once a year to honor the kinship and love between tribe members. During the festival, tribe members prepare meals, dance, and sing traditional songs, such as this ancestral chant often heard drifting through the treetops of the forest moon:

Dugun duca lula ludia nuna, dounga, luna nudia!

Even though the Ewoks live in fiercely guarded tribal units, they often treat outsiders with warmth. They are curious by nature, influencing their leader, Chief Chirpa, to open the Festival of Love to outsiders, allowing them to partake in the festivities.

Celebrate the Love

The Ewok Festival of Love will be taking place from February 10th to March 10th. To participate in the festival, be sure to visit the host cities: Tyrena on Corellia, Kaadara on Naboo, and the Southern Ewok Lake Village on Endor, before March 10, 2011. You can also find Chief Chirpa and the tribe celebrating in Theed on Naboo, near the cantina, and at the Research Outpost on Endor.

Queen Kylantha of Naboo has extended an invitation to the tribe to visit her planet, so Chief Chirpa has ventured to Theed with the tribal shaman Logray to share their rich culture with the galaxy. Visitors interacting with the Ewok tribe during the festival can even learn to speak the Ewok language to put the Chief at ease.

Although Logray is suspicious of outsiders, the medicine man is willing to part with some of the Ewok foodstuffs. Logray offers the traditional Festival of Love cuisine, camby berries and chak juice, but because he does not yet fully trust outsiders, festival-goers must pay a small price. The credits are well-spent, however, as this exquisite fare offers beneficial effects.

One of the festival activities involves helping the disillusioned love sage. He has lost his way and players must help him rediscover the true meaning of the Ewok Festival of Love and prove to him that there really is love in this crazy galaxy of ours.

News of the Galactic Civil War has not yet reached the Ewoks homeland, so the good-natured Ewoks are equally welcoming to Rebels and Imperials alike.

Upon completion of the Ewok Festival of Love activities, you will receive Ewok Chak Hearts to be used at one of the vendors to purchase Festival of Love rewards.

New This Year

This year, several new and customizable rewards have been added to the festival.

Ewok Festival of Love Painting 2011
We've added a new painting for this year's festival. The painting from last year can still be purchased from the festival vendor.

New Bouquet of Flowers
A new color of the Bouquet of Flowers is available this year. In addition, Chief Chirpa has also added a surprise feature to the bouquet of flowers.

New Schematics
A few schematics have been added this year, including a single-use schematic for Domestic Traders to customize different colors of the Wings and Halo and a single-use schematic for Entertainers to customize different versions of the bouquets, sparklers, and ribbon Entertainer prop items.

Collection Quest
Completion of the Ewok Festival of Love collection quest grants a badge and a storyteller persist device that will allow players to mark 10 storyteller items to keep them up until the Festival ends.

Storyteller
A new storyteller is planning to show up at this year's festival bringing with him a few extra surprises.

For information about other new things this year for the Ewok Festival of Love, check out the weekly feature this week on the Star Wars Galaxies website and stay tuned next week for even more information!

Festival Favorites

Citizens can once again use their earned Chak Hearts to purchase their favorite festival items from the past, including a miniature Chocolate Fountain, a Crossbow of Love that decreases an enemy's hate toward the player who uses it, a very special Ewok Festival of Love Familiar, a Ewok Festival of Love costume, and special treats, all in addition to the Festival of Love Wings to help you get in the spirit of things! The wings don't actually make you fly; they're just for looks and are perfect for use in the Appearance Tab.

The Ewoks live in harmony with nature and forage for food in the lush vegetation. Camby berries, a fruit gathered from the cambylictus trees scattered across the forest moon, are generally given freely during the Festival of Love, but are also offered for a small sum of credits. The camby berries are rather tart, so dip the fruit into the chocolate fountain nearby to add more taste and sweet benefits. These sweetened berries boost movement speed and experience gained, so indulge and enjoy! The Ewoks present this gift of their hard-earned food to other members of the tribe to demonstrate trust and acceptance.

What's love got to do, got to do with it?

Since the first appearance of the Ewok Festival of Love, many people have asked "what's love got to do with Star Wars?" Behind the scenes of some of the most notable conflicts in the galaxy, lies a love story. One of the most famous of these stories is one between Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.

"Evading Imperial pursuit, the Falcon landed in an asteroid field so that its crew could repair the vessel. It was during these quiet moments that Princess Leia Organa fell in love with Han Solo. The two voiced their love on Cloud City of Bespin, where the Imperial forces tracked them. Darth Vader captured Han Solo, and Leia was forced to watch as the Dark Lord froze him in carbonite, and then handed him over to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. Leia escaped Cloud City with the aid of its administrator, Lando Calrissian."

~source: Star Wars.com Databank

Know of other notable couples within the Star Wars universe? Share them in the official Ewok Festival of Love discussion thread.

Don't Miss It!

Everyone will be talking about the Festival of Love, so make sure you take part! Visit one of the participating cities (Tyrena, Kaadara, and the Southern Ewok Lake Village) to enjoy the festivities. There will be plenty of camby berries and chak juice to go around, so hurry now and help celebrate this year's festival!