Fiesta Hermosa: This multi-block festivity has been around for well over a half century, a party so big it happens twice a year (yep, the Labor Day version of the festival will return in early September 2026). Entry is still free, though admission to The Garden is $10, and there are three dates to consider: May 23, 24, and 25. Live music, the yummy Food Fair, a carnival, the Makers Mercado, and diversions that feel beachy and sunny in equal measure add briny bliss to the much-loved bash.
LA Fleet Week: The educational opportunity to tour a military ship doesn't happen all that often, but when this annual happening drops its anchor in the Port of Los Angeles, a bevy of tours, concerts, flyovers, and moving diversions do arise. The May 22-25 festival will serve as the Los Angeles America250 launch, so expect several patriotic moments, but do read up before you go on how to step aboard the ships (tours, as expected, are extremely popular).
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WATCH HEREMemorial Day: While many guests at the LA Fleet Week events will have opportunities to pay tribute to Memorial Day on May 25, there are other spots around the region where the meaning-filled occasion will be respectfully observed. The Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade is one of Southern California's largest Memorial Day processions, and longest-running, too; it's the parade's 34th annual outing. And the poignant Memorial Day Flower Drop will take place at the Palm Springs Air Museum, with over 3,000 flowers set to be dropped during a flyover at 2 o'clock. Memorial Day is May 25.
Topanga Days: Fiesta Hermosa has been living it up, sunny-style, since the 1970s, but so has this joyful jamboree a bit further north/northwest, a spirited and song-packed fundraiser for the Topanga Community Center. Strumming May 23, 24, and 25, this oh-so-Topanga to-do will boast live bands, old-school games (sack races are most definitely on the line-up), art moments, and the rollicking parade, a well-costumed lark known for its quirky pizzazz.
Jelly Dreamscapes: If the jellyfish could send away for one of those pretty family tree prints, the kind you frame and hang over the fireplace, it would have to be an extraordinarily large piece of paper for these enigmatic invertebrates were around when the dinosaurs ruled the land. Get to know several different jellies at a new Aquarium of the Pacific exhibition, an ethereal and mood-filled experience that will be open for nearly a year. Don't be jelly over these ocean wonders: Get to know them, and their fascinating worlds, starting May 23 in Long Beach.
