Things to do in NYC in May 2021 include celebrating Cinco de Mayo, the Dance Parade, the Frieze New York art fair, and Mother’s Day.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s not a normal May. Get vaccinated! Most of NYC reopened on May 19, 2021.
Everything is opening up. This works when everyone is responsible. If we’re not, COVID will come roaring back. Let’s all work together on this.
The Month of May
May is one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit New York City.
May weather is late spring. Average temperatures range from 54° to 71°F so it can be cool or warm. Rainfall is average.
New York’s summer weather pattern starts up and we get big fluffy clouds from the Caribbean that frame the urban landscape. They make the most beautiful photo backdrops.
The City is still in its school year rhythm. The weather, the clouds and the normal rhythm are all reasons to visit New York City in May.
May is:
- National Salsa Month 🕺🏽
- Haitian Heritage Month 🇭🇹
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
These events happen all month long.
- New York Mets baseball ⚾️
- New York Yankees baseball ⚾️
- NYCFC soccer ⚽️
- NY Red Bulls soccer ⚽️
Things to Do in NYC in May 2021 Week 17
April 26 – May 2, 2021
Saturday, May 1
Jarana Beat plays Mexican fandango outdoors at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 7pm. Suggested donation $10 🇲🇽
Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Celebrate International Workers Day 👷🏽♀️
Celebrate Haitian Heritage Month.
Celebrate National Salsa Month.
Sunday, May 2
Celebrate Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and Romanian Mother’s Day 🇨🇻🇪🇸🇵🇹🇷🇴.
Remember the Dos de Mayo uprising (Second of May uprising) when the Spanish people spontaneously rebelled against French occupation on May 2, 1808. This ultimately led to the independence of the Americas. 🇪🇸💥
Things to Do in NYC in May 2021 Week 18
May 3-9, 2021
Frieze Week brings Frieze New York and other art fairs. 🎨🎪
Tuesday, May 4
Jump start your music career at the LAMC, Latin Alternative Music Conference which is free and open to the public this year. It’s a really interesting music festival because Latin Alternative is part of the evolution of Latin music with strong crossover appeal. There are great showcases and industry panels. This year’s industry participants include many of the biggest commercial forces in music.
OPENING DAY
The LAMC 2021 Latin Alternative Music Conference is at latinalternative.com through Friday. FREE 🎵🎪
Wednesday, May 5
Happy Cinco de Mayo! The main U.S. festival of Mexican American culture celebrates the Indigenous victory over European forces at the Battle of Puebla, Mexico in 1862. 🇲🇽
The Battle also played a role in U.S. history. The unexpected defeat cost the French the fighting season. By the time they regrouped and took Mexico City, it was too late to join the U.S. Civil War on the side of the confederate traitors. If the Pueblans didn’t beat the French, we might still be a slaving nation. ¡Gracias Pueblo!
La Bamba is a fandango from Veracruz, Mexico at the start of the road through Puebla to Mexico City. Spaniards claim the fandango, but it is African. La Bamba was being sung as early as 1683 by Kongo (modern Angola) musicians. The fandango and the zapateado dance are African culture blended into Mexico. ¡Ay arriba y arriba!
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo and commemorate the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on the road to Mexico City in 1862. It’s not Mexican Independence Day. That is in September. 🇲🇽
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company returns to the stage with “Cinco de Mayo” at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey at 7pm. $20 per group of four 🇲🇽
PREVIEW
The Frieze New York contemporary art fair preview is at The Shed in Hudson Yards through Sunday. 🎨🎪 | 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇴🇫🇷🇮🇹🇲🇽🇵🇹
The LAMC 2021 Latin Alternative Music Conference is at latinalternative.com. FREE
The French Revolution (1789-1799) began with the opening of the Estates General in Versailles, France on May 5, 1789. The Cinco de Mayo defeat must have been terribly humiliating since it happened on this day. 🇫🇷💥
Remember Osvaldo Fresedo, the tango composer who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 5, 1897. 🇦🇷
Thursday, May 6
OPENING NIGHT
The 16th Harlem International Film Festival opens in person at the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 cinema in Harlem at 4:50pm. From $17 🎞🎪
The Frieze New York contemporary art fair preview is at The Shed in Hudson Yards. 🎨🎪
The LAMC 2021 Latin Alternative Music Conference is at latinalternative.com. FREE
Remember Rudolph Valentino, the first Latin film idol, who was born in Castellaneta, Apulia, Italy on May 6, 1895. 🇮🇹
Friday, May 7
The Frieze New York 🎨🎪 contemporary art fair is at The Shed in Hudson Yards through Sunday.
The LAMC 2021 Latin Alternative Music Conference is at latinalternative.com. FREE 🎵🎪
The 16th Harlem International Film Festival is streaming. $4.99 🎞🎪
Remember “Evita” Eva Perón, the legendary first lady of Argentina, who was born in Los Toldos, Argentina on May 7, 1919. 🇦🇷
Saturday, May 8
Héctor Méndez Caratini discusses a lifetime photographing Indigenous and African diaspora spirituality in the Caribbean for the Instituto de Historia in Madrid, on Facebook live @BibliotecaPineroUAGM at 11am ET/AT. FREE
Join the NYC Arts Workers Rally (Artists and independent cultural workers) at Foley Square between Lafayette, Worth and Centre Streets from 12 noon – 2pm. FREE 🗽
The Frieze New York contemporary art fair is at The Shed in Hudson Yards. 🎨🎪
The 16th Harlem International Film Festival is streaming. $4.99 🎞🎪
Remember Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the Creole composer who notated the rhythms of Congo Square and the Caribbean was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 8, 1829. 🇺🇸🎼
Happy Birthday Enrique Iglesias! The Spanish pop star was born in Madrid, Spain on May 8, 1976. 🇪🇸
Celebrate Laylat al-Qadr, the Muslim Night of Power and most sacred night in Islam. ☪️
Sunday, May 9
Happy Mother’s Day!
CLOSING
The 16th Harlem International Film Festival is streaming. $4.99 🎞🎪
Things to Do in NYC in May 2021 Week 19
May 10-16, 2021
Monday, May 10, 2021 ~ These are the last days of Ramadan. If you never participate, you have no idea how cool Ramadan is. It’s a beloved time of community, a joyous month of daily fasting and nightly feasting with family and friends. It’s a time of charity.
Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, a major feast with family and friends that is shared with all communities to increase mutual understanding. It’s an honor to be invited. The day after is a New York City Schools holiday.
“Eid al-Fitr Mubarak” (Blessed Eid al-Fitr).
Monday, May 10
Remember Roberto Firpo, the early Argentine Tango pianist, orchestra leader, and composer who was born in Flores, Buenos Aires on May 10, 1884. 🇦🇷
Tuesday, May 11
Maria Garcia of the “Anything for Selena” podcast talks with the cast and producers of Netflix’s “Selena: The Series” about making the second season. It’s on the 92nd Street Y’s Livestream channel at 6pm. FREE 🇲🇽
Remember Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí who was b orn in Figueres, Spain on May 11, 1904. 🇪🇸
Wish bachata star Prince Royce a happy birthday. Royce was born in The Bronx on May 11, 1989. 🇩🇴
Wednesday, May 12
The Cuban Cultural Center of New York streams Ignacio Granado’s documentary “El libro de los diez” on their YouTube channel at 7pm ET. FREE 🇨🇺
Celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the grand family feast that ends Ramadan . “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed holiday). It’s traditional to share this feast with non-Muslims to help them understand the faith. Sundown is expected at 8:04pm. ☪️
Thursday, May 13
It’s the New York City school holiday for Eid al-Fitr. 🚌
Photographers Terrence Jennings and Jamel Shabazz talk with curator Grace Aneiza Ali about photographing Black Lives Matter protests and the dignity they witnessed, as part of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s “On Protest and Mourning” exhibition and student curriculum at onprotestandmourning.digital at 6pm ET. 📷
Friday, May 14
Yes, the curve is going down, but it’s not time to let our guard down. We all want to be together, but if we go back the way we were, COVID-19 will come right back. Together we can do this, just pasito, pasito. Suave, suavecito.
Flushing Town Hall is streaming a performance by Juno award-winning Afro-Cuban jazz duo OKAN with live Q&A after on Flushing Town Hall’s YouTube channel at 7pm ET. $6 🇨🇺
Saturday, May 15
🇸🇻 Guadalupe Maravilla’s “Planeta Abuelx” opens today at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria, Queens. Maravilla is turning the whole park into a Tripa Chuca, the Salvadoran children’s game. He takes the concept of “Grandparents Planet” all the way to our Great Mother, Mother Earth. Socrates Sculpture Park has amazing views of the Upper East Side.
Sunday, May 16
The Antonio Sanchez Trio featuring Donny McCaslin and Matt Brewer play Summit Rock in Central Park (West 81st St or 86th St entrances) at 3pm. Sanchez won a Grammy for scoring Alejandro González Iñarritu’s “Birdman.” Opening acts start at 1pm. FREE 🇲🇽
Celebrate Shavuot, the Jewish harvest festival, at sundown through Tuesday. ✡️
Things to do in NYC in
May 2021 Week 20
May 17-23, 2021
Monday, May 17, 2021 ~ We can’t express the amount of energy stirring in New York’s creative communities, at City Hall, in all Five Boroughs, Upstate and even among the Feds. New Yorkers are working together to figure out how to reopen our city safely.
New York City opens this week. The museums opened safely and most everything is restarting. 24/7 subway and bus service is back. Tickets for September Broadway shows are on sale. Governors Island and Coney Island are open. People are eating out again. Most indoor capacity restrictions end Wednesday. New Yorkers are supporting each other.
PS: We are reopening with pandemic protocols designed to keep all New Yorkers safe. Check COVID protocols before you go, and let’s all do this together. We are all trying to figure it out. Keep calm and carry on.
Tuesday, May 18
Celebrate Haitian Flag Day, the day when the first Haitian flag was adopted in 1803. 🇭🇹
Wednesday, May 19
Most of New York City reopens from its COVID Quarantine. Still be careful. COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon. 🗽
Thursday, May 20
Thursday, May 20, 2021 ~ Tony Succar “Más de Mi” is a documentary about the salsero’s album that won the 2019 Latin Grammy for Best Salsa Album, the same year he won Producer of the Year. There’s a clip of us interviewing him at Duke Ellington Circle at the intersection of Harlem and “El Barrio” East Harlem. It releases at live.tonysuccar.com on Thursday, May 20 at 9pm ET. $10
Tony bootstrapped himself and the salsa community loves him. “Más de Mi” features Cimafunk, Alexander Abreu, Jean Carlos Rodríguez, Ángel López, Obie Bermudez, Debi Nova, Gian Marco, Richard Bona, Raíces Jazz Orchestra, Issac Delgado, Haila and Ronald Borjas.
Watch the premiere of the Tony Succar “Mas De Mi” documentary about his Best Salsa Album Latin Grammy win on live.tonysuccar.com at 9pm ET. New York Latin Culture Magazine is in it! 🇵🇪
Remember Toussaint Louverture, the early Haitian Revolution leader who was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti on May 20, 1743. 🇭🇹
Friday, May 21
Friday, May 21, 2021 ~ Sigue tu bembé. How do you translate that? Follow your good spirits. New York is in good spirits. So sigue tu bembé, but let’s do it responsibly to keep the spirits happy.
This weekend the Dance Parade, Loisaida Festival and PEN World Voices festival are virtual.
Museums are open indoors and have done it well.
Outdoors, there is a really cool Dominican Gagá spring celebration at the Bronx Music Hall in Crotona Park East. Little Island opens Friday in the Hudson River off the Meatpacking District. Parks, zoos, gardens, beaches, Governors Island, Coney Island and many streets are open.
Celebrate Ascension Day, which commemorates the ascension of Jesus to heaven. ✝️
Saturday, May 22
The 15th Dance Parade is virtual at 1pm ET. FREE
Gagá Pa’l Pueblo celebrates spring Dominican gagá traditions in the outdoor plaza at the Bronx Music Hall in the Bronx Commons at 438 East 163rd St in Melrose, The Bronx at 3pm. Free with phone call rsvp
The new moon rises over New York City at 1:38pm. 🌙
Sunday, May 23
The Loisaida Festival celebrates the diverse cultures of the East Village and the Lower East Side. So many people began their New York lives here. These are still some of the coolest neighborhoods in Manhattan. New York is gentrifying, but Loisaida still feels a little like the 1970s, and in a good way.
The 34th Loisaida Festival celebrates the Lower East Side virtually at 2pm. FREE
Happy Birthday Hector Acosta “El Torito”! The merengue singer was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic on May 23, 1967. 🇩🇴
Celebrate Pentecost, the Christian festival of the Holy Spirit. ✝️
Things to Do in NYC in May 2021 Week 21
May 24-30, 2021
Monday, May 24
Monday, May 24, 2021 ~ Next Monday is Memorial Day, a tradition Black communities started in 1865 after our Civil War to honor soldiers who gave their lives to end human slavery in our country.
Memorial Day is also the anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 where a prosperous Black community known as “Black Wall Street” was attacked by race mobs, bombed by private aircraft, and burned to the ground.
Tuesday is the anniversary of the George Floyd murder by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2020.
Growing up, we weren’t taught about these things. They were not part of our cultural memory. But it’s now 2021. You can’t say you didn’t know. We remember.
A G U A N I L E
Celebrate Eritrean Independence Day from Ethiopia on May 24, 1991. 🇪🇷
Tuesday, May 25
Remember George Floyd who was publicly murdered by a Minneapolis policeman while other police stood by and did nothing.
Photographer Dee Dwyer talks with educator Keyonna Jones about the murder of Deon Kay and countering misrepresentations of her community, as part of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s “On Protest and Mourning” exhibition and student curriculum at onprotestandmourning.digital at 6pm ET.
Remember the May Revolution of 1810 which launched the Argentine War of Independence on May 25, 1810. It was the first South American independence movement to succeed. 🇦🇷
Wednesday, May 26
Watch the UEFA Europa League Final Villarreal vs Manchester United in your favorite sports bar at 3pm. 🇪🇸
Pedrito Martínez plays Cuban rumba at Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village at 7:30pm. $30 🇨🇺
WE LOVE THE BRONX
Ben Lapidus, author of “New York and the International Sound of Music” talks with 8x Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabría and Bronx folklorist Elena Martínez on WHEDco’s Zoom at 8pm ET. Free with rsvp to emartinez@whedco.org
Celebrate Guyanese Independence Day from the UK on May 26, 1966. 🇬🇾
Thursday, May 27
WE LOVE THE BRONX
Take a virtual walking tour through Latin music history in the South Bronx with Bronx Folklorist Elena Martínez at 3pm ET. Free with rsvp to emartinez@whedco.org.
WE LOVE THE BRONX
Poet and educator Liza Jessie Peterson and Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. talk “Voices of Justice: The Role of Artists in Social Justice Movements” with the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective on the Bronx Music Heritage Center Facebook channel @bxmusic at 8pm ET. FREE
Friday, May 28
We will all remember this Memorial Day Weekend. Before we get to the fun, let’s not forget the Civil War soldiers who gave their lives to end human slavery in our country, the Tulsa Race Massacre, George Floyd and so many others. We must do better.
WE LOVE THE BRONX
The Zaccai Curtis Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet streams a virtual performance and live conversation on the Hostos Center’s Zoom, Facebook and YouTube channels, Friday, May 28 at 7:30pm 🇵🇷 hostoscenter.org
OPENING DAY
The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival is virtual at nyadiff.org through May 31, 2021.
OPENING DAY
The Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film festival is hybrid, in-person at Film at Lincoln Center and virtual at filmlinc.org through June 6. 🇮🇹
The New York Mets game 1 of 3 against the Atlanta Braves is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:10pm. ⚾️
OPENING NIGHT
The Tango Gotham tango show tribute to bandoneón Maestro Raúl Juarena is at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Queens at 8pm. From $37 🇺🇾
It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the popular start of summer! ⛱
Saturday, May 29
The UEFA Champions League Final, Manchester City vs Chelsea, is at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul (It may move to London). 🇬🇧🇬🇧
The New York Mets game 2 of 3 against the Atlanta Braves is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:15pm. ⚾️
The Tango Gotham tango show tribute to bandoneón Maestro Raúl Juarena is at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Queens at 8pm. From $37 🇺🇾
The DanceAfrica festival celebrates Haitian ancestral traditions for the Brooklyn Academy of Music at bam.org Pay-as-you-wish from $10 to $44 🇭🇹
The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival is virtual at nyadiff.org
The Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film festival is hybrid, in-person at Film at Lincoln Center and virtual at filmlinc.org 🇮🇹
Happy Birthday Fonseca! The Latin pop singer was born in Bogotá, Colombia on May 29, 1979. 🇨🇴
Sunday, May 30
The 34th Loisaida Festival celebrates the Lower East Side virtually at 2pm. FREE
The New York Mets game 3 of 3 against the Atlanta Braves is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:08pm. ⚾️
The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival is virtual at nyadiff.org
The Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film festival is hybrid, in-person at Film at Lincoln Center and virtual at filmlinc.org 🇮🇹
The Tango Gotham tango show tribute to bandoneón Maestro Raúl Juarena is at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Queens at 4pm. From $37 🇺🇾
Things to Do in NYC in May 2021 Week 22
May 31, 2021
The Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film festival is hybrid, in-person at Film at Lincoln Center and virtual at filmlinc.org 🇮🇹
Monday, May 31
Commemorate Memorial Day and those who gave their lives in service. Black communities started the tradition to honor those who fought and died to end human slavery in our Civil War (1860-1865).
Remember the Tulsa Greenwood Massacre of May 31, 1921.
CLOSING
The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival is virtual at nyadiff.org
Categories of Things to Do in NYC in May 2021
MAY HOLIDAYS
- Memorial Day Weekend 🕯⛱ May 28-31, 2021
MAY FESTIVALS
- Ramadan ☪️ April 12-May 12, 2021
- Cinco de Mayo 🇲🇽 May 5
- Laylat al-Qadr ☪️ May 9, 2021
- Mother’s Day 🌹 May 10 (USA)
- Shavuot ✡️ May 16-18, 2021
- Haitian Flag Day 🇭🇹 May 18
MAY INDEPENDENCE DAYS
- Eritrean Independence Day 🇪🇷 (from Ethiopia) May 24, 1991
- Guyanese Independence Day 🇬🇾 (from the UK) May 26, 1966
MAY PARADES
The NYC government is not currently issuing parade permits. Parades are mostly virtual as far out August.
Cinco de Mayo Parade 🇲🇽🥁 Sunday, May 2, 2021 TBC- 15th Dance Parade virtual Saturday, May 22, 2021
- Cuban Parade of New Jersey 🇨🇺🥁Expected Sunday, May 16, 2021 TBC
MAY STREET FAIRS
- Bronx Week 🗽in person and virtual May 8-16, 2021
- 152nd St. Cultural Festival (normally Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 29)
MAY ART
- NYCxDesign 🛋🎪 design festival May 13-18, 2021
- Frieze Week 🎨🎪
- TEFAF New York Spring 🛋🎪 Cancelled. Next May 6-10, 2022
- May art auctions 🎨🖼
MAY DANCE
- American Ballet Theatre Met Opera spring season Cancelled, but digital & outdoor plans
- Dance Parade 💃🏽🕺🏽🥁 virtual Saturday, May 22, 2021
- Dance Africa festival at BAM (2020: May 17 – July 7)
- Big Salsa Festival 💃🏽🕺🏽Memorial Day Weekend (postponed to 2022)
MAY FASHION
- Met Gala (usually first Monday in May), Moved to September 13 to close New York Fashion Week.
MAY FOOD
- Ninth Avenue Food Festival (2019: Sat-Sun, May 18-19)
MAY FILM
- Harlem International Film Festival May 6-9, 2021
- New York African Diaspora International Film Festival virtual at nyadiff.org May 28-31, 2021
- New York African Film Festival MOVED to February 2021
- Open Roads: New Italian Cinema May 28
MAY LITERATURE
- Pen World Voices Festival 📚🎪 Tuesday-Saturday, May 18-22, 2021
MAY MUSIC
- The usual performances are cancelled for the pandemic, but things are starting to look up.
MAY SPORTS
- UEFA Europa League Final ⚽️🏆 Wednesday, May 26, 2021
- UEFA Champions League Final ⚽️🏆 Saturday, May 29, 2021
- New York Mets ⚾️ baseball, April 8 – October 3, 2021
- New York Yankees ⚾️ baseball, April 1 – October 3, 2021
- NYCFC ⚽️ soccer, April 3 – November 7, 2021
- NY Red Bulls ⚽️ soccer, April 3 – November 7, 2021
- Sky Blue FC ⚽️ women’s soccer (April to October)
MAY THEATRE
- 36th Lucille Lortel Awards 🎭🏆 Off-Broadway awards, YouTube, Sunday, May 2, 2021
MAY BIRTHDAYS & MEMORIAL DAYS
- Louis Moreau Gottschalk 🇭🇹🇺🇸 composer, May 8, 1829
- Enrique Iglesias 🇪🇸 pop star, May 8, 1976
- Prince Royce 🇩🇴🇺🇸 bachata star, May 11, 1989
- Toussaint Louverture 🇭🇹 revolutionary hero, May 20, 1743
- Hector “El Torito” Acosta 🇩🇴 merengue singer, May 23, 1967
- George Floyd 🇺🇸 was murdered by police on May 25, 2020
- Fonseca 🇨🇴 singer, May 29, 1979