Don’t let Gray May get you down—not when there are so many things to do in San Diego this month, regardless of whether the sun decides to catch the vibe. From family-friendly happenings at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to a stacked music festival and a couple of bold ballets, here are nine exciting events to add to your itinerary.
Concerts and Theater | Festivals and Art | More Things to Do
Concerts & Theatre in San Diego
To the Stars at Mandeville Auditorium
May 4-5
Celestial sounds will echo through UCSD’s Mandeville Auditorium with To The Stars. Presented by the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, each of the production’s two shows offers live renditions of moving compositions by Anton Webern, Osvaldo Golijov, and Johannes Brahms.
9390 Mandeville Ln, La Jolla
San Diego Ballet’s Giselle at Balboa Theatre
May 4-5
The San Diego Ballet stages a uniquely SD take on Giselle, a heartbreaking love story originally set in medieval Germany, at the Balboa Theatre. Artistic Director Javier Velasco’s version transfers the tale to Spanish-colonial California and turns the traditional “Wilis”—ghosts of scorned women—into Mexican lloronas.
868 Fourth Ave, Gaslamp Quarter
Stir at the Old Globe Theater
May 4-26
Two siblings bridge the physical and emotional distance between them through a shared love of their mother’s favorite recipe in Stir, a recently commissioned, world-premiere play at the Old Globe, proving that food truly does bring people together.
1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park
2024 Wonderfront Music Festival
May 10-12
San Diego’s annual Wonderfront Music Festival is back, welcoming headliners Weezer, Kaytranada, Beck, Dominic Fike, Mt. Joy, and JID, among other artists, for three days of good food and drinks and even better music against a backdrop of nonstop sun and glistening waves in downtown.
100 The Embarcadero, Seaport Village
Justin Timberlake Concert at Pechanga Arena
May 14
“This I Promise You”… former N*SYNC boy bander Justin Timberlake’s show at Pechanga Arena on Midway will be jam-packed with bops. The 10-time Grammy winner will play tunes from his 2023 album Everything I Thought I Was.
3500 Sports Arena Blvd, Point Loma
Swan Lake at the Civic Theatre
May 17-18
In the running for the most well-known ballet on the planet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake follows Odette, a princess turned into a swan by dark magic. Hand-painted sets and elaborate costumes bring the classic story to life at the Civic Theatre.
1100 Third Ave, Gaslamp Quarter
Festivals & Art Exhibits in San Diego
San Diego International Fringe Festival
May 14-26
The one thing you won’t find at the San Diego International Fringe Festival? Censorship. Everything else is fair game. The 12th annual iteration of this free-to-low-cost fest celebrating out-of-the-box theatre, dance, and art brings hundreds of bold performances to Balboa Park and beyond.
Balboa Park
More Fun Things to Do in San Diego
Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch
May 1-12
Ring in spring with the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch’s annual ranunculus extravaganza. Get lost amid 55 acres of blooms while wandering peaceful gardens and a sweet pea maze, snacking on food truck eats, and chugging through the kaleidoscopic fields in a tractor-pulled wagon.
5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
May 1-12
Birds, bees, and butterflies are the stars of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s spring activities in Escondido. Expect breakdancing pollinators, guitar-playing bluebirds, and the chance to try your hand at nature photography in the park’s colorful Butterfly Jungle.
15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido
