Own
Moderator
It dawned on me that the festival is kind of a miserable experience for a lot of people there. Many characters are either grumpy about something, scheming or indifferent to everything going on. Not very festive. 
So it's no surprise that a lot of people ignore all the NPCs, talk to everyone with an [!] over their head and continue on.
It seems like more time could be spent in the festival, and spent well, if you had a side-quest there styled after a Kings Quest-esque adventure game:
Life of the Party: Find ways to spread cheer (at least for those who deserve it) throughout the festival. [0/50] (As a random number, with the ability to go over the limit, not everything required to hit the mark.)
Talking to each character there would award 1 point each.
Taking a picture would award points, more if Marino or Luke get their pictures taken as well.
Getting first place in Running / Fishing / Land a max swing for points.
Buy out all of popcorn from Ledge, so he can leave and be with Sally. If she'll still take him.
When the Volcano stops erupting, dump the popcorn into the volcano from the cliff above. That way when the baking soda is added it'll just break or explode. Mr. Bragg's kid can go see the animals.
Buy the kids balloon from him so he can enjoy the festival elsewhere.
Bella hates nasty, icky slimes. Release the balloon near her to make her run away, leaving Edward free to go to the fishing event.
Whack the school bell a few times after talking to Nanana to cause her to fly over and start ringing away at it for the rest of the festival.
Robin and Martial Arts guy, uh... settle their dispute by firing an arrow at the target, nailing the center? Neither are the master, both still have much to learn. That or talk to them with the Archer's Apple equipped and let them pop an arrow off at your head.
Mesido... I don't know.
Prize for hitting a decent number of points could be a cosmetic party hat, which otherwise can be purchased from Shady Merchant for a million gold so it isn't perma-missable. It could add a bit of playtime to the game, but I dunno if it'd be worth going back and adding new dialogue or potentially animations.
So it's no surprise that a lot of people ignore all the NPCs, talk to everyone with an [!] over their head and continue on.
It seems like more time could be spent in the festival, and spent well, if you had a side-quest there styled after a Kings Quest-esque adventure game:
Life of the Party: Find ways to spread cheer (at least for those who deserve it) throughout the festival. [0/50] (As a random number, with the ability to go over the limit, not everything required to hit the mark.)
Talking to each character there would award 1 point each.
Taking a picture would award points, more if Marino or Luke get their pictures taken as well.
Getting first place in Running / Fishing / Land a max swing for points.
Buy out all of popcorn from Ledge, so he can leave and be with Sally. If she'll still take him.
When the Volcano stops erupting, dump the popcorn into the volcano from the cliff above. That way when the baking soda is added it'll just break or explode. Mr. Bragg's kid can go see the animals.
Buy the kids balloon from him so he can enjoy the festival elsewhere.
Bella hates nasty, icky slimes. Release the balloon near her to make her run away, leaving Edward free to go to the fishing event.
Whack the school bell a few times after talking to Nanana to cause her to fly over and start ringing away at it for the rest of the festival.
Robin and Martial Arts guy, uh... settle their dispute by firing an arrow at the target, nailing the center? Neither are the master, both still have much to learn. That or talk to them with the Archer's Apple equipped and let them pop an arrow off at your head.
Mesido... I don't know.
Prize for hitting a decent number of points could be a cosmetic party hat, which otherwise can be purchased from Shady Merchant for a million gold so it isn't perma-missable.
It could add a bit of playtime to the game, but I dunno if it'd be worth going back and adding new dialogue or potentially animations.