This has been an incredibly busy week of cultural event, from The Met Gala, May the Fourth, Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby, Coronation…even the playoffs. Let’s discuss.

As a true culture vulture, I find myself following all manner of cultural events - mainly through social streams for behind the scenes on Instagram + TikTok - some with more interest that others. With so much happening, I thought it might be a good time to recap both the history and current roundup on the following.

The Met Gala

The first Monday in May, has always been a huge event in NYC, that officially kicks of the latest exhibit at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The theme and exhibit this year is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. This year was beautiful as always, with designers like Thom Brown and Valentino working overtime on some of the biggest red carpet showstoppers, along with the nods to Lagerfeld’s famous cat, Choupette.

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby was begun by Meriwether Lewis Clark, a prominent Louisville citizen who developed the Louisville Jockey Club. Clark began construction on the race course in 1874 on land leased from two relatives, John and Henry Churchill. He patterned the Kentucky Derby after the English Classic, the Epsom Derby. From the hats to fashion to mint juleps to a lot of surprise winners (see Rich Strike win last year), it’s a fun event to experience in person at least once if possible.

May the Fourth

Ok, this is not a real event BUT…Star Wars fans worldwide still lean into the whole “May the Fourth be with you” every year. Highlights this year included legend Carrie Fisher (aka Princes Leia) finally getting her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with some lovely speeches by her co-stars and daughter, to the Mayor of Kyle Texas showing up in full costume with Storm Troopers for the city council meeting.

Cinco de Mayo

I feel obligated to clarify what this event on May 5th is about, and how it Is celebrated. No, it is not Mexican Independence Day (that would be September 16th). Cinco de Mayo a yearly celebration held on May 5 of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, a victory over the French army was a morale boost for the Mexicans. That said, it is not widely celebrated in Mexico, but rather has turned into a commercial event in America to drive food & drink sales, for which some key alcohol brands (think beer and tequila) helped drive. Just good to understand the difference.

The Coronation

I’ll be honest, I am not on board with this outrageously expensive event in London to crown an unpopular King & Queen Consort, when the country needs economic help right now. To say there have been many controversies around it, would be an understatement (I recommend watching the recent John Oliver segment). The Royal Family is losing support per recent polls, and when I lived in London for two years, I remember the daily press around them feeling extremely outdated and odd. Anyway…the event is happening UK time on Saturday May 6th.

Bonus: The NBA + NHL Playoffs

As a lover of sports, my feed has been taken over by both NBA and NHL playoff highlights right now (with the occasional F1). As I wrote about in my previous post around BookTok, there has been increased engagement around hockey in particular, thanks in part to a number of hockey romance books, and their social media managers are leaning all the way into that trend to the delight of their audiences. All for the fun of it!

Let’s stay connected: My Website, Newsletter, Shop, Linkedin, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter