Best Things to Do in the Bay Area This May
Pier 39, courtesy of San Francisco Travel Association.
Street fairs, cultural festivals and returning summer traditions make May and exciting time to pay a visit to the Bay Area. These are the best things to do this May.
AAPI Heritage month, Bay to Breakers, Carnaval and more!
It’s cultural festivals galore in San Francisco this May, with a Carnaval festival, Taiwanese American culture celebration and an Italian street fair all competing for your attention. Would you call running naked across the city a cultural event? In San Francisco it is, and it’s called Bay to Breakers.
May also marks a milestone for the city, with the first games ever for the Golden State Valkyries, San Francisco’s new WNBA team. Any basketball fans should work one of their games into a trip — tickets are cheaper than the Warriors (who are busy with playoffs, go Dubs!), and excitement should be high. Add in a stop to Splash, the newest sports bar at the Thrive City complex at Chase Center.
This month is also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. San Francisco is a city built on the contributions of many Asian communities, and now’s your chance to pay a visit to Chinatown or Japantown for shopping, or more homey neighborhoods like the Richmond or Sunset for under-the-radar culinary adventures. Whatever you do, May is a great time to visit!
Mill Valley Music Festival, town fairs and Marin Open Studios.
From wildflowers in the hills to paintings in open Marin art galleries, the North Bay is awash with color this May. Though this month falls squarely in the middle of spring, summer activities start to take off as the weather warms up and families eagerly await the end of the school year. The Mill Valley Music Festival on Mother’s Day weekend draws visitors from around the Bay Area, while local festivals stir up the region’s towns, like the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Fest and San Rafael’s May Madness car show.
A historic ballet opening, Oakland Ballers baseball and fairs all over the East Bay.
Hey, hey, East Bay! May is full of quirky events in the quirkiest of Bay Area regions, the East Bay. Book lovers flock to Berkeley for the Bay Area Book Festival, which is an apt location for the event, since the country’s top public university is just up the road. UC Berkeley is worth a visit in its own right, with stunning architecture and plenty of grassy fields to relax with a veggie pizza from Sliver or banh mi from Saigon Express. If you do go to campus, save the trip for late May, unless you like getting caught in graduation crowds. Also up this month: a gathering for goths in Alameda, the opening day for Oakland’s homegrown baseball team and a wine fest out in Pleasant Hill.
Memorial Day, fests for salsa and jazz, cultural exhibits and more!
South Bay has something for everybody this month, with celebrations for Memorial Day, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and more. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway to Half Moon Bay, or looking for festivals in your neighborhood, now’s your chance to see what’s up in South Bay.
