1. Brighton Festival – This year marks the 50th Brighton Festival! It takes place between the 7th and 29th of May 2016. This annual celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events takes place in venues both familiar and unusual across Brighton & Hove.
2. Brighton Fringe – Brighton Fringe is England’s largest arts festival and is one of the largest fringe festivals in the world. It will take place from the 6th May – 5th June 2016. Brighton Fringe offers cabaret, comedy, classical concerts, club nights, theatre and exhibitions.
3. Artists’ Open Houses – Brighton Artists’ Open Houses takes place every year throughout May. Each weekend, artists in Brighton open their homes and studios to bring you everything from sculpture and painting to jewellery, ceramics and textiles. Over 1,000 artists will open up their homes across the city and in the surrounding area, providing art lovers with the opportunity to buy items and chat with the artists.
4. HOUSE – HOUSE is a curated contemporary visual arts event, which takes place during May. Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing OBE is HOUSE 2016’s Invited Artist and brings A Room With Your Views, a collaborative film project capturing ‘views’ from homes across the world, connecting people and countries.
5. Charleston Festival – Meeting place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group, Charleston Festival offers an impressive array of literary and artists talks, discussions, films and workshops.
6. The Great Escape – The Great Escape showcases over 200 new local and international musicians across 35 venues over 3 days. It’s the first place to discover your new favourite artist and see them in an intimate setting before they go on to headline major festival stages.
7. Elderflower Festival – Family-friendly festival in the Sussex countryside from the 27th May –  Packed with activities for kids of all ages, music, entertainment, locally sourced food and a woodland spa. Elderflower Fields started with the aim to put families and kids first and then built the rest of the weekend around them.
8. Children’s Parade – This very enjoyable event organised by Same Sky Community Arts Group takes place on the first Saturday in May; May 7th this year. There are around 5,000 participants and as many as 10,000 line the route of the parade to watch and give encouragement. The displays on parade are really impressive and the enthusiasm is massive. This year it will feature a 20ft dancing puppet of Brighton legend Disco Pete.
9. Folklore, Magic and Mysteries: Modern Witchcraft and Folk Culture in Britain – One of Britain’s spookiest historic houses, Preston Manor in Brighton, is to host a unique display of artefacts and documents from the personal collection of local witch Doreen Valiente.
10. Funk the Family Festival – An outdoor festival for the whole family in Hove Park featuring music; circus shows; cinema and more!