Here are this month’s top family activities around the Bay Area.
May 31
Bay Area Book Festival
ALSO JUNE 1. The 11th annual festival features indoor and outdoor stages of authors, a robust children’s area and hundreds of exhibitors and food vendors. Details TBA.
Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park and other downtown venues, Berkeley
Walnut Creek Art and Wine Festival
ALSO JUNE 1. Fun for the entire family, with arts and crafts, vendor booths, festival foods, a wide range of wines, a craft beer garden, live music, children’s activities and more. 11am-7pm.
Civic Park, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
walnut-creek.com/art-wine-festival-2025
San Mateo County Fair
THROUGH JUNE 8. Enjoy fair food, carnival rides, farm animals, pig racing, concerts, exhibits and more. Check website for hours. Admission $6-23, 5 and under FREE, ride wristband $38.50-44, parking $18-20.
San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware St., San Mateo
Union Street Festival
Celebrate local business, culture and community with live music, food, vendors, family activity zones, artists and more. 11am-7pm. FREE.
Marina District, Union Street from Fillmore to Gough streets, San Francisco
sunsetmercantilesf.com/unionstreetfestival
Bubble Planet Experience
THROUGH SEPTEMBER. This is an immersive experience in which you surround yourself with bubbles with virtual reality technology, themed rooms and fantastical landscapes. Check website for available times. $16.90-33.90.
Henry J. Kaiser Center, 10 10th St., Oakland
“Woodshop”
Bay Area Discovery Museum’s newest exhibit allows kids to become makers. It features wood, tools, googles and work aprons. Open 10am-4pm Wed.-Sun. $15-20.
Bay Area Discovery Museum, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito
“Lemuria – A World of Wonder”
THROUGH JULY 6. Imaginarium’s newest interactive light festival will bring eight mythical realms to life with dazzling lights, mythical creatures and captivating landscapes. The walk-through event spans one-and-a-half acres in the Great Mall parking lot. 7-10pm Wed., Thu., Sun.; 7-11pm Fri. and Sat. Tickets start at $21, under 3 FREE.
Great Mall, 447 Great Mall Drive, Milpitas
Crucial Reggae Sundays
Enjoy the music of Mighty Mystic at this family-friendly reggae music series that takes place every Sun. in Golden Gate Park. 4:20-7:30pm. FREE.
Golden Gate Bandshell, 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco
June 3
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical”
THROUGH JUNE 22. This is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chart-busting, show-stopping American rock icon. It includes classics like “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “Sweet Caroline.” $60.50-210.50
Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St., San Francisco
June 4
“Co-founders”
THROUGH JULY 6. This hip-hop musical is the story of an underrated young Oakland coder, Esata, who hacks her way into the most competitive startup accelerator in San Francisco. Determined to save her house as an influx of wealth threatens to push her community out, she forms an unlikely partnership with a prep-school dropout. $25-130.
A.C.T.’s Strand Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco
June 6
“The Nightingale”
THROUGH JUNE 22. People’s Circus Theatre presents this Hans Christian Anderson story of a magical nightingale whose song can stir even the hardest of hearts. It includes a mixture of acrobatics, aerial arts and timeless storytelling. 7pm Fridays, 3 and 7pm Saturdays, 2pm Sundays. Tickets start at $25.
Children’s Creativity Museum, 221 Fourth St., San Francisco
peoplescircustheatre.org/the-nightingale
June 7
“Trolls: Save the Humans”
THROUGH NOV. 10. Featuring six of Thomas Dambo’s gigantic troll sculptures made from reclaimed wood, this outdoor exhibit at Filoli explores the intersection of folklore, poetry and the human relationship to the natural environment. 10am-4pm. $29-39, under 5 FREE.
Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside
Proud of My Family
For the ninth year, Children’s Discovery Museum is hosting this event designed to honor all types of families, especially LGBTQ+ parents, relatives and friends with a variety of activities and entertainment. 9:30am-4:30pm. $16-18, under 1 FREE.
Children’s Discovery Museum, 180 Woz Way, San Jose
PRIDE Mill Valley
Highlights of this event include live performances celebrating diversity and unity, deejay sets, vendors, community resources for LGBTQIA+, a selfie station and more. 11am-3pm. FREE.
Mill Valley Downtown Plaza, 87 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley
millvalleyrecreation.gov/2084/PRIDE-Mill-Valley
Novato Art, Wine & Music Festival
THROUGH JUNE 8. The weekend includes live music, food, wine and beer, local art, a petting zoo, eco-art workshops, face painting and more. 11am-7pm Sat. and 11am-6pm Sun. FREE.
Downtown Novato, 807 De Long Ave.
June 12
“Adventures in AI”
THROUGH SEPT. 14. The Exploratorium’s newest exhibit allows visitors to discover how AI works, think like a computer, paint with your voice, interact with AI-powered artworks, look inside a video game chip and play with image generators. Museum is open 10am-5pm Tue.-Sat.; 12-5pm Sun. $29.95-39.95, 3 and under FREE.
Exploratorium, Pier 15, Embarcadero at Green Street, San Francisco
June 13
Alameda County Fair
THROUGH JULY 6. The Alameda County Fair is back with all of the favorites including a concert series, farm animals, pig racing, festivals, kids’ activities, rides, fair food, motorcross, fireworks and more. Check website for times. $14.30-19.80, 5 and under FREE; carnival wristband $38.50-45; parking $13-15.
Alameda County Fairgrounds, 2005 Valley Ave., Gate 8, Pleasanton
June 14
North Beach Festival
THROUGH JUNE 15. Celebrate in the historic North Beach District at this festival featuring food, live entertainment, makers and merchants, Italian street art and family activities. 11am-7pm. FREE.
Columbus and Grant avenues, San Francisco
June 15
Stern Grove Festival
The Stern Grove Festival opens today with a performance by The California Honeydrops. Other performances this month include Channel Tres on June 22 and Sleater-Kinney on June 29. 2pm. FREE but tickets are required; check details on website.
Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, San Francisco
June 21
Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest
Create sand masterpieces or just come to check out what contest participants are making at this annual event at Crown Memorial State Beach. Bring a shovel, buckets and great ideas. Categories include 12 and under, 13 and up and families. Meet at the Bathhouse. 9am-1pm (Registration is 9-11am). FREE.
Crown Memorial State Beach, Otis and Westline drives, Alameda
alamedaca.gov/Departments/Recreation-Parks/Sand-Castle-Sculpture-Contest
San Francsico Gay Men’s Chorus: “The Pride Concert”
This concert celebrates and uplifts the trans and nonbinary community through the power of music. It features songs that focus on resilience, identity and belonging. 1pm and 7:30pm. $36.60-248.88.
Curran Theatre, 445 Geary St., San Francisco
June 28
San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade
THROUGH JUNE 29. The celebration at Civic Center will include entertainment, a street fair and artists and exhibitors. The parade on Sun. will feature colorful floats, performances, celebrity guests and more. Parade starts at 10am.
Parade begins on Market Street at Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco
Bohème Out of the Box
THROUGH JUNE 29. For the third year, San Francisco Opera presents its popular Bohème Out of the Box presentation of “La Bohème” – Giacomo Puccini’s beloved opera about love and loss among a group of bohemian artists. Families with young children are invited to participate in free “First Act” workshops 30 minutes prior to all performances. 2pm. FREE; registration encouraged but not required.
Heritage Plaza, 835 C St., Hayward