With the advent of May comes the official beginning of Summer. This is a great time to be in Los Angeles as the days get warmer and longer, but with a cool marine layer coming off the Pacific creating the famous ‘May grey’, it’s almost the perfect temperature. This month we’ve got a beach festival, the venerable LA County Fair and the family favorite Harry Potter, with live accompaniment from the LA Phil no less. And that’s before we’ve even mentioned Cinco de Mayo! These are the 10 best things to do in LA in May. We think you’ll agree, in terms of Los Angeles events, it IS hot this month.

Events & Activities in Los Angeles This Month

1. BEACHLIFE FESTIVAL (MAY 1-3) 

The first of the summertime beach city festivals, Beachlife comes to Redondo Beach for the first weekend of May. Duran Duran, The Offspring, My Morning Jacket, and Sheryl Crow are some of the headliners for three-day fest. It’s going to be great, but don’t forget to take the sunscreen.

More information here.

2. CINCO DE MAYO (MAY 1-5)

Okay, okay, so they don’t really celebrate Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) in Mexico. But seriously, who cares? For the Mexican immigrant community – and anyone here that appreciates Mexican culture and tequila – it’s an important day/weekend. Angelenos typically say that if you remember it, then it probably wasn’t special enough.

How to celebrate? Just go to your local Mexican restaurant (and here in Los Angeles there’s always a local one). Order a margarita and knowingly murmur “Cinco de Mayo!”.

There are celebrations all over the Los Angeles area (check here for details), or just visit the Los Angeles Pueblo, the spiritual heart of the Mexican community in LA, it’s always a special time to see it (more information here).

3. LA COUNTY FAIR (MAY 7-31)

The LA County Fair has been going for more than a hundred years (since 1921 in fact). Obviously back in the early days it was a little different, connected as it was to the area’s extensive farming community back then.

Today it retains an element of its pastoral past, with farm animals and wood-block chopping, as well as having the latest fun-fair rides and lots of food trucks and stalls.

More information here.

4. WATCH A MOVIE MADE AND SET IN LOS ANGELES (ALL MONTH)

For over a hundred years Los Angeles has been uniquely associated with the movie industry, in fact it was in the 1920’s that the industry became known as Hollywood, a then suburb of the city where many of the studios were based. Since then tens of thousands of films have been made here, but the vast majority weren’t set in LA, they were shot on a soundstage at a studio pretending to be somewhere else.

Even so, quite a lot of movies have been set in, and therefore filmed in, Los Angeles and the city has always had a very distinct role in every one. From Film Noir to post apocalyptic action, via romantic comedies, LA itself is a big part of each story. Highlighting the city’s gritty underbelly, dystopian nature, or just being that kind of a place where dreams really CAN come true.

Check here for a list of movies set in downtown Los Angeles.

Check here for a list of movies set in Hollywood.

Check here for IMDb’s list of the 25 best films about LA in the last 3 decades.

5. BEVERLY HILLS ART SHOW (MAY 16-17)

There are undoubtedly a lot of Beverly Hills residents who collect art, to one extent or another, so this might be quite a good art show to visit to pick some up. So, if you’re looking for an excuse to visit the most famous burg in the world, I’ve just given it to you.

Four garden blocks along Wilshire Boulevard are given over to creating exhibition spaces for the 235 artists who are included this year. There’s a wine and beer garden, children’s activities and gourmet food trucks.

More information here.

We also have a free self-guided tour of Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills, if you want to further explore the neighborhood before or after visiting the art show.

6. EXPLORE THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (ALL MONTH)

The San Fernando Valley can be disparaged by Angelenos sometimes, but that’s just not fair. ‘The Valley’ is enormous and it has a lot of things to see and do across its many neighborhoods.

You can hike in Griffith Park or in the San Gabriel Mountains, the highest in the region. Or visit Topanga State Park, the biggest in Los Angeles (twice the size of Griffith Park). Remember that both parks are INSIDE the city of LA, when you’re trying to explain to someone how big the city is.

There are also numerous cultural sites and museums, as well as great bars and restaurants. Not to mention two Hollywood movie studios, Warner Brothers (now owned by Paramount) and, of course, Universal Studios.

Read our neighborhood guide for the San Fernando Valley here.

7. GUSTAVO DUDAMEL & YO YO MA AT THE MUSIC CENTER (MAY 28 AND 30)

Two superstars of the classical music world are performing together at the end of May.

Yo-Yo Ma “is a musician of immense conscience, a wholeheartedly earnest presence who tends to bring out the best in whatever company he is in” (The New York Times). Sharing the stage with Gustavo Dudamel, Ma brings his sensitive playing to the world-premiere performances of an underwater field recordings-inspired concerto by Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón. The collaboration between Negrón and Ma sparked from an experiential creative workshop she facilitated with Ma and the Billion Oyster Project in New York City.

Mundillo, meaning “little world” in Spanish, references the Puerto Rican artisanal craft of handmade bobbin lace. Their intricate patterns serve as a metaphor for connection, patience, care, and collective labor. Negrón’s concerto draws parallels between the tradition and interdependent structures of mundillo and those of corals and sponges, showing how small, repeated gestures can form beautiful, complex, living structures that require great care to preserve.

Los Angeles Music Center

The performances are in the magnificent Walt Disney Concert Hall, at the LA Music Center in downtown. More information here.

Dudamel is also conducting all three acts of Die Walküre May 19-21. It’s a rare opportunity to see them together. More information here.

8. VISIT LACMA FOR ART AND JAZZ (ALL MONTH)

LACMA is definitely one of the best museums I’ve ever visited, with a truly world-class collection. In May its brand new David Geffen Galleries are opening to the public. Very controversial, their huge irregular form now crosses Wilshire Boulevard to the new D Line station, on the other side (scheduled for May 8). Take this opportunity to make up your own mind on the subject and celebrate Metro finally opening the D Line extension by taking the subway!

Another reason to visit LACMA! The Jazz concerts here have featured legit legends over their three-decade run, it’s one of LA’s best free live music offerings. Seating is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis (behind Urban Light), though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass (alcoholic drinks are allowed :-) ).

More information here.

9. NOAH’S ARK AT THE SKIRBALL COMMUNITY CENTER (ALL MONTH)

The Skirball Community Centre is located in the Santa Monica Mountains, just off the 405 Freeway, between the San Fernando Valley and LA’s Westside. Noah’s Ark is an ongoing exhibition and the center has other events and special exhibitions.

Imagine yourself immersed in a favorite childhood tale, which has parallels in cultures all over the world. Conduct a storm, help construct the Ark, and bask in the glow of a beautiful rainbow. Mingle with hundreds of fancifully handcrafted animals—from cuddly companions to life-sized puppets—all crafted from recycled materials and everyday objects, including baseball mitts, mop heads, and rearview mirrors.

Skirball Cultural Center

More information here.

10. DTLA MURDER MYSTERY GHOST TOUR (EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT)

Join us on a Saturday night in May to go on a noir exploration of the dark underbelly of the city of Angels, while popping into one or two haunted bars. Think of it as true crime and cocktails.

During the tour we check in on some legendary locations including: the Barclay Hotel, The Alexandria Hotel, the Hotel Cecil of course, and the Biltmore Hotel. Each one a key true crime scene.

Over the course of the evening we try to answer the big questions, such as: why do people commit such ghastly crimes as those of the Night Stalker? What do they tell us about the pointlessness of human existence? And exactly which spirits go into a Black Dahlia cocktail? By the end of the tour we’ve hopefully learned the answer to at least one of those questions!

More information here.

If you have any feedback on The 10 Best Things to Do in LA in May please email us or reach out on social media, we’d love to hear from you.

– By Damien Blackshaw (Twitter)