Longest Night Levee
The troubles between Dairy-On-Moonrise and Dairy-On-Stardust seem to be infinite in number. The governance of Parcadia has tempered the outright aggression of their militias against one another, but generational interpersonal conflicts still exist to this day.
On the longest night of the year, this conflict is put aside. The Mayors of both towns meet at moonrise on Strawberry Hill between the towns, with the rest of the town leadership and militia commanders. A formal statement of truce is called until Stardust Hour (the shooting stars that appear in the sky shortly before dawn, that are the brightest on the longest night)
With the official declaration of truce, the families of Moonrise and Stardust quickly set up pavilions and cooking stations around the hill. Every family seems to have a traditional recipie that they cook for the night, and people travel freely between the pavilions sampling the various food and beverages that have been produced this year.
The Rival Gift
As this is a time of truce, forgivness, and love, the people of the towns will give gifts to their worst rivals, to atone for any sins they may have committed because of their rivalry. A woman may give a scarf to the wife a of a man she had been flirting with. Rival farmers might gift tools and supplies to fix a fence that was "accidentally" broken. Parents will often ensure that childeren who had been caught bullying others will have to apoligize to the other children.Cheese pull competition
Families who host cooking stations will compete to see who has the stretchiest, stringiest melted cheese served on bread. Although not an official competition with rules and judges, there are some standard known customs on what can be used to perform a cheese pull. Several years ago, the Fondolese family caused a scandal by melting cheese into a pot, and creatively using a highly-structured "bread bowl" and gravity to make a column of drippy cheese. It's become known as the "Fondoo" by those who thought it was great, and the "Fondont" by those who don't. Surprisingly, this is the one subject that is almost safe to speak about at the Levee, as the Dos and Don'ts are across the entire population of Dairy.Cheesemeisters and Curdology
Every dairy farm has at least one Cheesemeister on staff, whether the farm owners know it or not. During the Levee, the Cheesemeisters gather to trade information about cattle breeding, cheesemaking techniques, and "curdology" (the belief that the supernatural can be invoked to assist with the quality development of cheese). Negotiations can be made at this time to trade calves to ensure that the herds do not become too inbred. These trades are hidden from the rest of the population of the Dairy area."Watching for Stardust"
Young couples will often take the opportunity to claim they are "watching for the start of Stardust" to their parents and sneak away for some privacy during the Levee. Many proposals have been made during this time, and there is quite a baby boom later in the year.Pantomimes and performances
Various groups in both towns will often put on plays, pantomimes and other performances that tell the verbal history of the towns. In recent decades, a more modern performance of how the towns worked together to prevent the Parcadian Government from building the Cawes station on top of Strawberry Hill.Observance
Takes place on the longest night of the year, from the first sight of the moon (Moonrise) until the end of the morning shooting stars (Stardust)
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