<P> The financial difficulties Pawnee experiences during the third season were reflective of the financial crisis facing the nation and much of the world when the episodes were produced . The idea of state auditors visiting Pawnee, and the subsequent government shutdown, were inspired by news reports at the time of a number of states that were considering a shut down of schools, parks and other services due to the global recession . Amy Poehler described one of the early themes of the season as Leslie Knope trying to maintain her optimism about public service in the face of economic cutbacks and cynicism about government: "How does one person work in government and not become cynical? How does someone believe that change could happen without losing faith?" </P> <P> Much of the first seven episodes of the season revolved around the characters organizing a harvest festival, which had previously been a Pawnee tradition before it ended . The storyline stemmed from serious budget problems facing Pawnee and the major cuts threatened to the parks department, which prompts Leslie to bring the harvest festival back and stake the future of the entire department on its success and failure . The festival served as a device to bring all the characters together working toward a common goal, similar to efforts to turn a construction pit into a park during the first two seasons . Schur said the harvest festival story arc was written in part because the first six episodes were written and filmed early, so the writing staff felt having one concise storyline to tie them together kept the show focused . Schur also said the writers were fatigued from working on six third - season episodes immediately after the second season, so the harvest festival story arc helped "organize our tired, end - of - the - year brains". </P> <P> One of the biggest story arcs of the third season was the romance between Leslie and Ben, which slowly developed throughout the series until they officially began dating in the episode "Road Trip" despite a strict policy against workplace dating at city hall . The development of Ben's feelings for Leslie coincide with his growing appreciation for Pawnee; the character never had a firm sense of home due to the excessive amount of traveling with his job, but throughout the season Ben gradually falls in love with the town due to the optimism and enthusiasm Leslie Knope shows for Pawnee and her job . The no - dating policy, imposed by Chris, stemmed from real life policies in small town governments, which Schur said were considered very important because "these people are handling taxpayer money, so relationships are even more frowned upon than they are in the private sector". During the season finale "Li'l Sebastian", Leslie is encouraged by political operatives to run for office, but is asked whether there any potential scandals that could risk becoming public . Leslie denies there are any, but it is suggested her secret relationship with Ben could become such a scandal . </P> <P> The first five episodes of the season involve Andy and his attempt to win back the affections of April, who previously had feelings for Andy, but became angry after Ann kissed him in the second - season finale, "Freddy Spaghetti". The two reconcile in "Media Blitz", which Schur described as a "key moment" in their relationship, "almost like Andy's a Knight of the Round Table, and he's got a lot of different obstacles that he's got to overcome in order to win the love of a fair maiden". Andy and April become married during a surprise wedding four episodes later in "Andy and April's Fancy Party". Schur said the decision to have them marry after only briefly dating stemmed from the writing staff's desire to "avoid the standard - issue TV romance plots: fights, other men / women driving them apart, and so on". They decided a fast marriage was funny, but also made sense because the characters are "two impulsive goofballs who don't approach their lives in a responsible, adult manner". </P>

Song in last episode of parks and rec