Best SF Bay Area
Events, Weekends & Festivals 2019

We limit our picks to ONLY the best events in the SF Bay area in 2019, personally handpicked for local insiders to enjoy. Many are unique world-class affairs. A few are just a lot of fun. The events below are organized by month & regularly updated including local Pacific Coast time. Also see regular weekly events at the end of each month below and recently past events.

MAY 2019 — SF Bay Area Events & Weekends

May is filled with good events to see and do and the weather is usually fantastic.

NBA Playoffs – Conference Finals
See TV schedule dates for times on all teams.

The Golden State Warriors are now in the final four, against the Portland Trailblazers, having beaten the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers in two hard fought earlier rounds.  Injuries from these battles are definitely a factor.

• Game 3: Sat 5/18/19, Golden State at Portland, 6:00 pm PT.  Golden State is ahead 2/0.  
• Game 4: Mon 5/20/19, Golden State at Portland, 6:00 pm PT. 
• Game 5 if needed: Wed 5/22/19, Portland at Golden State, 6:00 pm PT.
• Game 6 if needed: Fri 5/24/19, Golden State at Portland, 6:00 pm PT. 
• Game 7 if needed: Sun 5/26/19, Portland at Golden State, 6:00 pm PT.

The NBA Finals begin Thursday 5/30/19, 6:00 pm PT with the NBA Finals Game 7 scheduled for Sunday 6/16/19 if needed.

Stanley Cup Hockey Playoffs – Western Conference Final
The San Jose Sharks are playing the St Louis Blues from 5/11/19 through 5/23/19.
See more details.

May Holidays

• Harvey Milk Day, Wednesday 5/22/19
• Memorial Day, Monday 5/27/19
• More Holidays

Preakness Stakes, Baltimore, Maryland
Saturday, 5/18/19.  Post time 3:20 pm PT.  
The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown is the 1-3/16 mile Preakness Stakes.  See more here.

Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana
Sunday, 5/26/19, all day, Free on TV
One of the most famous motor car racing events in the world. It’s a 500 mile race where top lap speeds can get over 236 mph (this is the record made in 1996, in 2017 the top speed for a full lap was over 226 mph).  Other related events start Saturday 5/11/19.  See more details.

Memorial Day Monday 5/27/19
For good things to do just look around our website. The Bay area is blessed with hundreds of hidden gems which are open every day.

Sunday Streets, Sundays, Free at different locations
These Sunday events close neighborhood streets to cars so people can enjoy a large, temporary, public space where they can freely bike, walk, run, dance, skate, yoga & meet neighbors.  In our experience they do not get busy until later in the afternoon so there is no need to get there right on time.

• Sunday Streets  on most Sundays between 3/10/19-10/20/19 from 11 am-4 pm
• Every Sunday at Golden Gate Park and Canada Road (off Hwys 280 & 92, Belmont) – Main roads are closed to cars every Sunday year round subject to weather for bicyclists & skaters of all levels to enjoy.
• For more details see Sunday Streets.

Gray Whale Migration Season, Numerous locations along the Pacific coast
12/15/18 – 5/31/19, Paid boat tours or Free from shore
Watch some 20,000 gray whales migrating from the Arctic to Baja, Mexico. Tour boats leave San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Moss Landing and Monterey during this season. Or, watch them from on shore. See more details.

Fun & Free WEEKLY Events & Activities
Here are some good things to do that happen regularly every week in April.

• Off The Grid at Fort Mason Center – Friday Nights through October, This is the largest food truck event in the U.S. with over 30 independent food vendors, music and considerable action.  See details.
• Picnic at the Presidio, Main Parade Ground –  Sundays, 11 am-4 pm.  Off the Grid’s food vendors gather in this great venue.  March – October.  See details.
• Golden Gate Park Band – Sundays, 1 pm-2:45 pm.  4/28/19-10/6/19.  Located at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.  See more details.
• Swing Dancing in the Park – Sundays, 11 am-2 pm, year round.  Free dancing & beginners lesson in Golden Gate Park.
• Bicycle Sundays – Open Sundays round subject to weather.  Main roads are closed to cars on Sundays at both Golden Gate Park and Canada Road (off Hwys 280 & 92, Belmont) for bicyclists & skaters of all levels to enjoy.

Month of May – Other

• Pro Sports:  See Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks.
• Golden State Warriors:  See schedule (or national TV NBA schedule).
• College Sports:  In the Bay Area you can see a variety of interesting collegiate sports up close and at low cost. E.g., the sunken diamond at Stanford is one of the best places to watch college baseball in the country. Check Stanford’s schedules for baseball or all sports.  Also see the Cal Berkeley, San Jose State and San Mateo Jr. College event schedules.
• FREE Monthly Museum Days:
  Typically the first Tue/Wed/Thu, every month at many Bay Area locations
  Many San Francisco Bay Area museums have free admission days once a month. See dates & links. Often these events are quite crowded but if you arrive early enough this is a way to see the best museums for free.