I'd suggest, Prairie, before you ask more questions, for you to read the Guidebook forum in its entirety, for the bulk of everything you're asking can be answered via the threads that the admins have worked hard to provide you with in order to keep you from wondering. Many of your other questions can be answered by looking through the subforums as well.
1.)
This thread should answer most of your questions, though there is also a seed store that my character Freya owns in
this thread with more unique produce, flower, and tree seeds that you can't find anywhere else on the island. Our member Jovia also owns a tree seed shop
in this thread that would be useful to check out.
2.)
This thread is our church, or temple, to the Harvest Goddess. I believe we are currently looking for a priest, though we do have a priestess.
3.)
This thread contains information about the Mayor.
4.) Our festivals rotate as our seasons do, on a bimonthly basis. There is always a thread for us to suggest various festivals, such as in
this thread, and then we vote on them, much like in
this thread. The festivals, and little blurbs of information about them, are always in the left sidebar beneath the Characters of the Month.
5.) We have an adoption center on this island in
this thread where you may purchase a dog or a cat. For a horse, you should look in
this thread.6.) My character Rhi owns the TV broadcasting station for the island, and though I've been lazy up until now, I will be providing a seasonal weather broadcast that will be in
this thread. There is an example, if you scroll down, of what it will look like.
7.) Please refer to the earlier thread I posted from the Guidebook about the Farming Guidelines for this question.
8.) You can start farming at any time. We are about to have a change into Autumn on October 1st, actually.
9.) I'm not sure what you mean by 'the other characters.' All of our characters on this island, minus a few, have a job of some kind, most of them being full-time, unless they are under 18 in which case they are generally a student at Mother of Pearl School. There are part-time jobs available all around the island and the mainland, however.
10.) The clinic's information can be found in
this thread.Once again, I urge you to read through the Guidebook in its entirety, like all members are
required to do. Your questions here demonstrated that you didn't, and I'd hate for you to go on asking tons of questions that the admins answered a very long time ago.
[EDIT] I want to say a quick
mea culpa as I just realized that reading the Guidebook in its entirety is not required. So perhaps you read only what was required and then decided not to read the rest. Regardless, I highly advise reading all of it, as it may answer any other questions you will have in the future and open up new aspects to our roleplaying here that you didn't even know existed.