May is when both locals and visitors can’t wait to get outside — and when festival season finally arrives.

The outdoor calendar is filled with music fairs like the Sing Us Home Festival and The Roots Picnic, foodie gatherings like The South 9th Street Italian Market Festival and one of the nation’s first Pride events, New Hope Celebrates PrideFest.

Joining them are a plethora of neighborhood street festivals across the region including Girard Avenue Street Fest, Roxborough Spring Fest, South Street Live!, Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival and the new Eraserhood Fest.

The May merriment doesn’t stop there with more annual events including Fan Expo, the Devon Horse Show, Philly Beer Week and the 35,000 athlete-strong Broad Street Run, plus the new PGA Truist Championship.

With so much happening this month, you’ll wanna stay over. Book the Visit Philly Overnight Package for free hotel parking and perks.

Check out our guide to the biggest events and most awesome things to do in Greater Philadelphia in May 2025.

Through Sunday, May 4, 2025

Since its founding in 1808, Walnut Street Theatre has hosted scores of showstoppers, but these talents are a real dream. May brings your final chance to catch Dreamgirls, the six-time Tony Award-winning musical (later adapted into an Academy Award-winning motion picture).

The production follows a sensational 1960s Supremes-like girl group through the trials, tribulations and backstage drama of surviving the rapid rise from obscurity into superstardom, with an unforgettable original score spanning pop, R&B, gospel and disco, including the smash And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.

Written by Italian libretto Lorenzo Da Ponte to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Don Giovanni — now in its waning days at the Academy of Music — is a beloved opera about a very unlovable man.

Opera Philadelphia, the city’s only producer of grand-scale opera, presents this 240-year-old (yet timely) drama about a despicable nobleman who uses others without care for their regard or the consequences it brings, and what happens when he murders the father of a woman he’s assaulted — an act which might finally lead to his downfall.

Through Sunday, May 4, 2025

The bloom is about to be off at Longwood Gardens, Philly’s largest display garden, as the annual Spring Blooms event comes to a close.

It’s one more chance to catch the familiar colors and fragrances of the season while taking in the world-renowned thousand-acre attraction’s early spring bulbs, vibrant blooms of aromatic tulips and beloved wisteria, flowering trees and more — including the new spaces of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience. Pierre du Pont’s horticultural oasis showcases nearly 10,000 varieties among its indoor and outdoor grounds. Timed admission tickets are required.

Through Sunday, May 25, 2025

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” is the famous line which opens the J.R.R. Tolkien tome that launched a multibillion-dollar Middle Earth saga of 11 films and novels, and this popular 2001 stage adaptation.

This The Hobbit, with final shows this month at Arden Theatre, is the minimalist staged tale of Bilbo Baggins, an unlikely hero who travels through freezing mountains and frightening forests on a mystical adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and battle the dragon Smaug.

Through Sunday, May 25, 2025

Home to one of the world’s most important collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modernist paintings, the Barnes Foundation was named one of the 10 best small art museums in America by The Washington Post.

The gallery’s 2025 calendar brings a trio of new traveling exhibitions, with the first, Cecily Brown: Themes & Variations, concluding this month. The exhibit — which highlights the career of the pioneering contemporary British painter — features over 30 paintings and drawings showcasing her subversion of gendered tropes in art history and popular culture from a feminist perspective.

Through Monday, September 1, 2025

The latest iteration of the famous three-decade-old traveling exhibition, Body Worlds: Vital is on display now through September at The Franklin Institute. A joint work of anatomists and over 13,000 body donors, the exhibit is an exposition of dissected human bodies, animals and other anatomical figures, which allows visitors to view complex anatomy structures and functions in an unprecedented way — through the innovative preservation process of plastination.

The exhibit explores health concerns of contemporary times and celebrates the living human body in its optimal state: healthy, vibrant, vigorous and in motion.

A new exhibition is on display this spring at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, showcasing the magnitudinal changes in design aesthetics that came during and after World War II. Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s highlights a shift toward creativity and departure from norms across media, including fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture and more.

See how artists brought new ideas to their work and began to express a creative spirit that flourished despite the restrictions and adversity of the era from across the decade, featuring works from the museum’s permanent collections.

April 26 – September 7, 2025 (select dates)

Believe it or not, we’ve known how to get, how to get to Sesame Place — the only Sesame Street-themed amusement park outside California — for four-and-a-half decades now.

Throughout the spring and summer, the Langhorne playland hosts its 45th Birthday Celebration. The park is set to be decorated with bright balloons and colorful garland, feature fabulous birthday presents and offer birthday-themed twists to favorite rides and attractions, including the return of the fan-favorite Sesame Street Birthday Parade. Get ready for the sapphire anniversary with ready-to-print birthday coloring sheets to bring along with you!

Through Saturday, September 28, 2025 (select dates)

The rust is knocked off and the early season is in full swing as Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler and the rest of your 2025 Philadelphia Phillies start racking up wins and homers at Citizens Bank Park.

The month’s schedule starts with the remainder of the Phils’ set against the Washington Nationals, followed by a threesome versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. After a brief road trip, the Fightins return to take on the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates before tough series with contenders the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers to close the month.

Through Saturday, October 18, 2025 (select dates)

Dooooop! The Philadelphia Union kick into May as Dániel Gazdag, Kai Wagner, Andre Blake and their teammates roll forward, starting with a home date on Saturday, May 10, 2025 versus the Columbus Crew.

Then two massive matchups round out May with a visit from Marco Reus, Gabriel Pec and the defending MLS champion LA Galaxy on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, followed by current Supporters’ Shield-holders Inter Miami CF and global superstar Lionel Messi (subject to availability) on Saturday, May 24, 2025, all at stunning soccer-specific Subaru Park in Chester under the Commodore Barry Bridge.

April 5 – October 26, 2025 (Saturdays & Sundays)

Hailed as “one of the best food markets in the United States” by Food & Wine, the seasonal Southeast Asian Market brings the tastes of the region to FDR Park each weekend through October.

The massive culinary treasure includes over 70 vendors offering traditional dishes, street food, native produce, plants, jewelry, apparel and more, set up in the (appropriately) southeast corner of the park. Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy your food fresh along with your take-home haul. Please note: Some vendors are cash-only and there’s no ATM on site.

Ongoing

Give the City of Brotherly Love a standing ovation: The internationally renowned TKTS ticket booth service is now running right here in Philly.

Joining the ranks of New York, Tokyo and London, TKTS Philadelphia offers unbeatable deals of 30% to 50% off last-minute tickets to select Philly theater and performing arts shows (within 72 hours of the start time) including performances by Ensemble Arts Philly and The Philadelphia Orchestra plus shows at over 20 venues like The Wilma Theater, Forrest Theatre and Walnut Street Theatre. Tickets must be purchased in person at Independence Visitor Center.

Where: The Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA

VIEW OTHER LOCATIONS (7)

Franklin Music Hall, 421 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA

Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia, PA

Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, 1 Harbour Boulevard, Camden, NJ

Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA

The Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, PA

Citizens Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA

May 1-3 & May 8-10, 2025

Located at the edge of Rittenhouse Row, the theaters inside The Drake building serve as home to several organizations — including InterAct Theatre Company and several resident companies — operating under the “At The Drake” performance banner.

May brings a special event to the Louis Bluver Theatre inside the venue with the inaugural two-long-weekend Variety Pack: An Alt Comedy Festival featuring a wide schedule of weird and wild experimental alternative comedy performances from stand-up to improv to sketch and more.

In 1977, late filmmaker David Lynch immortalized Philly’s Callowhill neighborhood in his experimental film Eraserhead, directly inspired by his experience living in the neighborhood now nicknamed for it. The inaugural Eraserhood Fest honors the legend with an immersive celebration of the history, culture and community of the iconic district where Lynch once resided.

Held during Philly’s First Friday, the fest features local vendors, cultural activities, food trucks, street murals, gallery exhibitions, live performances, interactive experiences and general Lynchian weirdness, all with the multifaceted artist’s legacy at the heart of it.

An outdoor spring music festival — but make it ballet. This year’s version of the two-day annual BalletX Festival is highlighted by the full-length world premiere of Jennifer Archibald’s Maslow’s Peak, inspired by the classic novel Lord of the Flies.

The event produced by BalletX, Philadelphia’s premiere organization for contemporary ballet, will be held at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts and features a full day of pre-show performances by local artists, live music and family-friendly fun. All tickets for the fest are just $25, with upgrades available.

Philly singer-songwriter extraordinaire Dave Hause has assembled the annual rock homecoming weekend he’s always wanted — and you’re invited.

Held on the grounds of Manayunk’s Venice Island Performing Arts Center, the three-day Sing Us Home Festival fest returns for its third year with a robust lineup including Frank Turner, The Bouncing Souls, Speedy Ortiz and more, along with Dave-times-three: performing with his band The Mermaid, as a member of his brother’s Tim Hause & The Pre-Existing Conditions and as part of the Hause Family Campfire. Food from local and national vendors will be available.

One of Philly’s premier street festivals, the annual Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival highlights the Center City neighborhood’s reputation as a cultural hotspot. Dozens of booths line Walnut Street and the area around Rittenhouse Square Park, offering art, beauty, fashion, family fun, food vendors and beer and cocktail samplings plus live music, culinary demonstrations and local artist showcases.

The upscale festival promotes “accessible luxury,” and traditionally brings more than 50,000 people to the district, a free-to-attend (with pay-as-you-go food, drink and merchandise) party stretching across multiple blocks, each with its own vibe.

The grandest block party along “the hippest street in town” returns with a new name — South Street Live! (formerly South Street Spring Festival) — ushering in the height of springtime with alfresco family fun spanning Headhouse Square and along South Street. The event includes musical performances, eating contests, food trucks, a kids’ zone, street vendors, Free Comic Book Day, a Vinyl Block Party and more.

During Brauhaus Schmitz’ fest-within-a-fest Maifest, revelers can sample German beers and food like bratwurst and watch German dancers perform a traditional dance around the giant Maypole.

This is no parking lot beerfest. Washington Crossing Brewfest, the first beer festival of the season in Bucks County, is nestled alongside the banks of the Delaware River in Washington Crossing Historic Park.

Now in its 14th year, tickets for the event — located behind the Thompson Neely House — feature two-ounce pours from over 100 local, regional, and nationally known breweries (plus hard ciders, seltzers and more). The volunteer-run fest also includes food vendors and live music from rock-and-roll bagpipe band First Highland Watch, as well as the park’s Washington Crossing Fifes and Drums.

A sweet tradition since 1978, the Strawberry Festival at suburban food-and-shopping hotspot Peddler’s Village in Lahaska features two days of events centered on fresh, locally grown strawberries. Treats take the form of “berry-yummy” pastries, jams and chocolate-dipped bites along with, of course, actual strawberries available for purchase by the pint.

The popular annual event also includes a craft show, live music and entertainment, food trucks, kids’ activities, and shop specials. Bonus: Strawberry-themed food and drink specials are available across the village’s restaurants and eateries throughout May.

More than 35,000 athletes traverse a course down the longest straight stretch of road in any American city during the annual Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run, the largest 10-mile race in the nation. The course runs from Einstein Medical Center at Broad Street & Fisher Avenue in North Philly to The Navy Yard in South Philly, with an earlier first wave start time of 7 a.m.

Not a runner? Join in the party-like atmosphere with thousands of fellow spectators along the iconic course to motivate participants with music, noisemakers and witty signs.

DIY’ers rejoice! The Chestnut Hill Home + Garden Festival returns with over 200 home, garden, vintage/collectible and artisanal vendors lining Germantown Avenue between Rex Avenue and Willow Grove Avenue.

Shop for your spring and summer project needs or gather inspo from experts and artisans during live demonstrations in the festival’s Makers Village. Bring the whole family as crafters, non-crafters (no judgment here) and kids can look forward to live music, dance and theatrical performances at Stagecrafters Theater, a Kids Zone, and plenty of Chestnut Hill shops and eateries to explore as you stroll.

One of the region’s most unusual beer events returns to Sly Fox Brewing Company‘s Tastin’ Room in Pottstown.

The annual Bock Fest & Goat Race benefit starts with live music, a goat parade and a stein hoist competition before 50-or-so speedy goats hit the track for a 90-minute race to determine which G.O.A.T. will have the honor of having its name adorn the day’s special Maibock, tapped after the race. Join in for bock brews and great eats while you watch trackside or on the Jumbotron. Advanced tickets required.

Move over Pebble Beach and Augusta, Philadelphia is golf’s new hotbed. Before Delaware County’s Aronimink Golf Club hosts The PGA Championship in 2026, the men’s pro golf tour’s biggest stars like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa (scheduled to appear) gather at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Clubhouse in Montgomery County for the 2025 Truist Championship.

The former Wells Fargo Championship is one of the year’s eight PGA Tour Signature Events, designating it as among the circuit’s only limited-field tournaments featuring top players and an increased purse of $20 million.

May 7 – September 24, 2025 (Wednesdays only)

Alfresco dining is in style this spring and summer in Media as two-dozen restaurants participate in the Delaware County seat’s annual Dining Under the Stars event. Every Wednesday, State Street closes to car traffic from Jackson Street to Orange Street so pedestrians can enjoy peaceful evenings of strolling with friends and family, live music, restaurant specials and outdoor dining, drinking and sidewalk shopping from your favorite local stores and eateries.

Among the over-two dozen participating establishments include La Belle Époque Wine Bistro, Ariano Italian Restaurant & Bar, Brick & Brew, Fellini Café Trattoria and Stephen’s on State.

Coming this May to the Academy of Music, the 160-plus-year-old venue on Philly’s Avenue of the Arts, is the Philadelphia Ballet’s double-bill of La Sylphide featuring Études.

The former is August Bournonville’s crowning Romantic tale (with score by Herman Severin Løvenskiold) of a young Scottish farmer awakening to the call of a magical forest spirit. The latter is a study on the building blocks of classical ballet from basic movements to pointe celebrating the magnificence of dance, set to the music of Carl Czerny and choreographed by Harald Lander.

All late spring and summer, Longwood Gardens’ glorious fountains jet to life across its Kennett Square campus during the attraction’s annual Festival of Fountains.

Daytime performances include the daily Main Fountain Garden show with its 1,719 jets soaring as high as 175 feet — also viewable from the Conservatory Overlook, part of the new Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience — and the 110-year old Open Air Theatre’s 750 jets in changing patterns spinning and dancing to music. Nighttime brings the dazzling displays of the spectacular Illuminated Fountain Performances.

A companion to the park’s annual fall fine arts shows, the Rittenhouse Square Spring Fine Craft Show showcases over 140 functional craft artisans and their master-level works in ceramics, jewelry, wood, digital art, decorative and wearable fiber, furniture, glass, photography and more.

The event at Rittenhouse Square park, free to the public and held rain or shine, is organized by Rose Squared Art Shows in collaboration with the Friends of Rittenhouse Square and offers attendees the opportunity to explore and purchase one-of-kind handcrafted items directly from the artists.

Opens May 9, 2025

Opening this May at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a new exhibition culled from the Ira and Myrna Brind Collection of the museum’s upcoming Brind Center for African & African Diasporic Art.

With the materials used to make artwork often encoded with culturally specific notions of value or prestige, Head-to-Toe: African & Asian Wearables is comprised almost entirely of worn items from Africa and Asia like jewelry, headdresses and textiles. The display examines how trade and other forms of exchange have influenced the meaning of specific materials for the cultures and regions represented.

Music, food trucks and craft brews? Yes, please. Once again, Roxborough pulls out all the stops for the annual Roxborough Spring Fest, taking over Ridge Avenue from Lyceum Avenue to Leverington Avenue.

The annual springtime celebration of local music, art, food and craft beer features works from more than 50 local artists and crafters, treats from dozens of award-winning local food trucks, live music across three stages, a dedicated Kid’s Zone, a student art showcase, boozy and non-boozy beverage stands, and craft brew selections from Roxborough’s own New Ridge Brewing Co.

Stroll and shop for handcrafted goods at the quirky Spring Art Star Craft Bazaar, organized by local women-owned shop Art Star. Featuring over 80 vendors, the one-weekend-only market at Cherry Street Pier offers handmade ceramics, jewelry, prints, clothing, home decor, paper goods, accessories and more.

Visitors can also enjoy free event totes, a full cash bar, food from Philly Tacos and interactive Make + Take craft activities from Project Joy, Craft Nation and Printadelphia. The bazaar is free to enter, open rain or shine and welcoming for pets on a leash.

Honor the women in your life with the annual Mother’s Day Gospel Celebration concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, featuring some of gospel music’s biggest names. Celebrate and praise those special moms, daughters, matriarchs and mother figures with a full day of gospel acts including Donnie McClurkin, Kurt Carr, Hezekiah Walker, Maranda Curtis, Le-Andira Johnson and Kelontae Gavin, with actor-writer-comedian Jonathan Slocumb serving as host.

A pre-show Mother’s Day Supper Club dinner is also available on-site starting at 2 p.m., featuring a three-course chef-curated menu.

Originally known as Wizard World, Fan Expo returns to the Pennsylvania Convention Center honoring all things genre, from sci-fi, horror and gaming to comics, anime and cosplay. Expect plenty of panels, workshops, screening rooms, red carpets, trivia competitions, fan group meetups and a quarter-million square feet of exhibitor space featuring creators, independent artists and game developers.

The event also welcomes a slew of celeb guests including Jodie Whittaker, Walton Goggins, William Shatner, Giancarlo Esposito, Anthony Daniels, John Boyega, Heather Graham and more (scheduled to appear) with available photo ops, autographs and Q&A’s (separate charges).

A wellness fair, cultural festival and empowerment movement all in one, the African Liberation Day Health Festival is held annually in Clark Park. Created by the African People’s Education & Defense Fund to help address health disparities in Black communities, the event features free health screenings, fitness activities, nutrition education and health-related resources.

The event is held in conjunction with the May One Africa! One Nation! Uhuru Flea Market, offering natural products, art and handmade crafts, vegan and plant-based food vendors, community organizations, wellness practitioners, live music performances and kids activities.

Drawing more than 15,000 spectators annually for over 20 years, New Hope Celebrates PrideFest welcomes visitors from both sides of the Delaware for one of the nation’s first Pride events of the year. The festival features the only Pride Parade which crosses a state line — beginning in Lambertville in New Jersey, traversing the bridge and culminating in New Hope, Pennsylvania — including a hundred-foot Rainbow Equality Flag and over a thousand participants in marching bands and on floats.

The celebration continues at the Pride Fair (with vendors, games and food), outdoor PrideFest Live concert and Best Cocktail Contest.

A combination college fair, career fair, Black-owned business market, music event and spring festival, the second biennial HBCU Festival — celebrating Historically Black Colleges and Universities — returns to The Mann Center.

The event is complete with reps from HBCUs and employers from a variety of industries, a wellness zone, local food trucks, classes and panels, family fun activities, and lots and lots of music from HBCU choirs, marching bands, majorettes, cheer squads and guest artists. The event, part of The Mann’s Summer Picnic Series (BYO outside food and non-alcoholic beverages), is free with advanced registration.

The Brewerytown, Francisville, Spring Garden and Fairmount communities come together once again to host the annual Girard Avenue Street Fest outdoor festival. Serving the Park to Broad Arts & Business District, the free-to-attend family event takes place along West Girard Avenue between College Avenue and 29th Street.

The fête features over 100 retail vendors and service-providers, food vendors serving the best bites from Brewerytown restaurants, games, live local bands, and even a kids zone with bounce houses.

Formerly known as the Ardmore Outdoor Beer Fest, the Main Line Outdoor Beer & Wine Festival sets up at Schauffele Plaza across from Ardmore Music Hall each year.

Join the fun with live music, coffee vendors, food trucks, a barbecue and pig roast (with libations from Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft), and beer and wine from over 20 breweries and wineries, including Spellbound Brewing, Broken Goblet Brewing, Love City Brewing and much more. Available VIP package upgrades grant early event access, specialty brews, a food voucher and more.

Hosted annually by Philly’s famous century-old curb market, the South 9th Street Italian Market Festival offers a boisterous weekend of food, art, music and a celebration of the Italian and diverse cultures of the neighborhood.

The event includes over 100 craft vendors, live music on three stages, the Procession of Saints parade, the John Marzano Half Ball Tournament, the very-Philly greased-pole-climbing contest and, of course, delectable cuisine up and down the Italian Market’s seven full blocks, with great deals on homemade sausages, decadent cannoli, imported cheeses, cappuccino, fresh pasta and more.

Celebrate spring during the PAFA Family Arts Day Spring Festival, a day to honor the creativity of students, faculty, artists, creators and the families that support them within the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts community.

Enjoy a fun-filled, family-friendly afternoon of art-inspired activities on Lenfest Plaza — home to Claes Oldenburg’s famous 51-foot-high Paint Torch sculpture — to explore the vibrant world of art while connecting with friends and family. The event includes hands-on art-making stations, live music and performances, food and refreshments and lots of community engagement.

Leading up to America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026, Visit Philadelphia and its partners (in collaboration with TED Democracy) celebrate the city’s legacy as the birthplace of modern democracy through the TED Democracy Speaker Series.

The series’ third event, Truth, Trust & the Media, focuses on discerning fact from fiction in a world of information and misinformation and exploring the power and pitfalls of the media. The event at Penn’s Annenberg Center begins after a reception with light bites, refreshments and a special live performance. RSVP by Friday, May 16, 2025, as seating is limited.

The beloved Devon Horse Show is an annual equine tradition dating back to 1896 — the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse competition in the nation. Held at Chester County’s famous Devon Show Grounds, the pageant features equestrian disciplines, open-air exhibitions and events including a dog show and Memorial Day tribute.

Alongside the competition is the old-fashioned Devon Country Fair, itself an institution since 1919, with a half-dozen popup restaurants and plenty of fair food stands, over 60 boutique shopping and souvenir vendors, an art gallery and a Midway featuring a Ferris wheel and carousel.

Is it getting hot in here? Join the Forrest Theatre for a rousing production of Some Like It Hot, a Tony Award-winning adaptation of the 1959 Billy Wilder film which packs in deep-belly laughs, the glamour of the Jazz Age and a thoughtful commentary on gender.

In this witty musical-comedy set in Prohibition-era Chicago, local musicians Jerry and Joe — on the run from the Windy City’s mob after witnessing a hit — go on the run the only way they know how: by hopping a cross-country train disguised as women.

Film buffs and fans of Latino culture celebrate cinematic grandeur from established and emerging Latino filmmakers at the annual Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PLFF). As usual, the lineup will include feature films, shorts, animations, web series and documentaries.

Other events include workshops and discussions, such as the festival’s Luz Programs (including a work-in-progress lab and filmmaker Q&A sessions) and the annual LOLA Awards, which honor filmmaking achievements in the Latino and Latinx creative community. Keep an eye on the PLFF website for updates on titles, schedules and locations, which include venues throughout the city.

The popular annual Philly Beer Week event returns this spring with 10 days of events, tastings, happy hours, pub crawls and foamy fun. Pouring brews since 2007, the regional tradition brings together breweries from around the city and countryside (and across the country) to show us all why Philly remains one of the best beer cities in the world.

Keep an eye on the official calendar and the Philly Loves Beer Instagram page for Beer Week events, announcements and lists of participating breweries as they are revealed.

With the city’s deep history in soul, rap and hip-hop, it’s no wonder Philadelphia is home to one of the nation’s most prestigious hip-hop and R&B festivals. The annual Roots Picnic — curated by iconic Philly band The Roots — features a yearly lineup highlighting groundbreaking up-and-comers and legendary acts alike.

The 2025 version is headlined by neo-soul crooner D’Angelo, Strawberry Mansion-bred rap superstar Meek Mill and genre-bending legend Lenny Kravitz. GloRilla, Miguel, Tems, Latto, Kaytranada, Jeezy and Northwest Philly’s own Kur also top the stacked bill.

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Mid to late May is the peak northward migration for birds on their way from wintering in the tropics to breeding grounds further north. That makes it the best time for birders and bird enthusiasts to get out and enjoy the show.

Get the best views of warblers, thrushes, flycatchers, tanagers, buntings, grosbeaks, orioles, vireos and other voyaging avians at parks and preserves like John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Pennypack Park, Fort Washington State Park, Bartram’s Garden, Cobbs Creek and across Fairmount Park.

Philly brew, beats and bites lovers have waited all year to get outdoors and enjoy the streets and neighborhoods that come alive in May as a plethora of outdoor music festivals, beer fests and food festivals begin the season.

Among the bevy of annual May fests are Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, South 9th Street Italian Market Festival and New Hope Celebrates PrideFest, plus tons of neighborhood fairs and community fêtes across the region.

The weather is finally warm enough to take the music outside as open-air performances tip off for the year.

The season’s first outdoor shows begin in May at Philly’s three gorgeous amphitheaters: the Camden waterfront’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, West Fairmount Park’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the beautiful Dell Music Center in East Fairmount Park. And when the athletes are away, music takes the stage with teeming crowds for big shows at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.

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April’s showers portend May’s flowers, making the month the perfect time to get out and enjoy colorful mid-spring post-bloom floriferous shows at the region’s myriad gardens and arboreta.

Some fantastic city locations from which to view Mother Nature’s spring display include Morris Arboretum, Bartram’s Garden and Awbury Arboretum. And in the countryside, take in the wonder at Barnes Arboretum at Saint Joseph’s University, Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, Chanticleer, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, Tyler Arboretum, Peace Valley Lavender Farm or Longwood Gardens — including the ongoing Spring Blooms festival.

May’s springtime temps spark a perfect time to enjoy the region’s scores of parks, green spaces and riverside urban trails. Philadelphia features over 150 wooded hiking paths covering 800 miles along spots like Pennypack Trail and Forbidden Drive plus 11,000 parkland acres from Fairmount Park to Wissahickon Valley Park to Ridley Creek State Park.

For urban hikers, the Delaware River Trail offers four scenic city-side miles from Pier 70 to Penn Treaty Park and the Schuylkill River Trail stretches 10 miles from South Philly to Pottstown.

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Outdoor dining spaces and streateries across the city are favorites among Philly diners.

Now that spring is in full bloom, the weather is perfect for eating outside before summer heats up as restaurants, bistros, cafés and diners offer open-air seating at patios, street enclosures, rooftop decks and parklets. Check out spots like Suraya’s Garden, LMNO, Cira Green’s Sunset Social, Independence Beer Garden, Alma del Mar, Liberty Point at Penn’s Landing and a.kitchen+bar.

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Honor Philadelphia’s Asian American, Pacific Islander American and Native Hawaiian community during AAPI Heritage Month in May.

Enjoy Asian-owned restaurants like Nok Suntaranon’s Kalaya, Ellen Yin’s Fork or Jesse Ito’s Royal Izakaya — all James Beard Award winners. Celebrate the arts with the Asian Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists. Discover collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Department of East Asian Art and Penn Museum’s Asia Galleries. Or explore Philadelphia’s Chinatown, one of the world’s oldest and largest, and its 40-foot-tall Friendship Gate.

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May is Jewish-American Heritage Month, and Philadelphia has been an important Jewish cultural city since the first Jewish immigrants arrived in 1701 and now as one of the world’s largest Jewish population centers.

Visit Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History for events all month, along with its 30,000-object-strong collection celebrating the Jewish experience in America. Or tour the region’s important Jewish landmarks, like the circa-1740 Mikveh Israel Cemetery, 115-year-old B’nai Abraham (Philadelphia’s first purpose-built synagogue) or Elkins Park’s Beth Sholom — the only synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

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The weather in May in Philadelphia is, well, springlike. At the start of the month, daytime high temperatures run around 70 degrees Fahrenheit with overnight lows around 50 degrees. But by the end of May, those average highs jump to 78 degrees, bottoming out at night near 60 degrees. The record high for May came in 1991 at 97 degrees.

May offers around seven hours of sunshine per day with moderate rainfall averaging about 3.7 inches. Brief scattered pre-season thunderstorms are relatively common, especially toward the second half of the month.

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With reasonable temps and open-air events starting in earnest, May is one of the best times of the year to enjoy Philadelphia’s dining, bar and nightlife scene.

The month sees outdoor, street and rooftop dining spots spring back to life across the region for alfresco dining along with many bars and breweries opening the gates to their beer gardens for the season and a slew of food and drink festivals on the calendar. And fave (or soon to be fave) eateries both indoors and out introduce new spring menus.

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Many locals would target the May sports scene as one of Philly’s best as Phillies fever takes over. Baseball’s boys in red pinstripes have center stage to themselves as the football and arena sport seasons take their breaks, with a full month of games at Citizens Bank Park in perfect baseball weather.

Not to be outdone, Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union fight for early season dominance at beautiful Subaru Park in Chester, while prestige events like the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run and Devon Horse Show make their annual appearance.

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Outdoor concert enthusiasts have been waiting all year for May, as Philly’s two largest open-air amphitheaters — Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on the Camden waterfront and The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in West Fairmount Park — kick off their summer concert schedules. Later sunsets also bring A-list headliners to packed concerts at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.

With the warm spring weather comes festival season, and big names can be found at music fests across the city like the Roots Picnic and Manayunk’s Sing Us Home Festival.

Surround yourself with the joy of good eats, good drink, good music and good company outdoors along the blacktops and sidewalks of Philly neighborhoods as street festival season starts in earnest.

The city has been waiting all winter to enjoy the plethora of seasonal community fests that commence in May celebrating neighborhoods across the region. Check out annual favorites like Girard Avenue Street Fest, Roxborough Spring Fest, Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival and the delicious South 9th Street Italian Market Festival.

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Philly is a great destination any month, but May is one of the best — before the summer travel season begins and the end of the school year.

Pre-summer temps are pleasant with low humidity as many city outdoor attractions begin to open for the summer and outdoor festivals and beer gardens get rolling.

The Best Things to Do in Philly Every May

What Is Philly Like in May?

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