The 2025 Wm Brown Summer Almanac
From menswear events to car races, legendary flea markets to bbq championships, we're including favorite watch (and state!) fairs, museum shows, plus the coolest rodeo (and lots more!)
I’m the worst with dates—every year when I see someone at some event that I wish I was at, I promise myself that I’ll build it into next year’s calendar. Of course I forget, and then I’m back to having fomo the following year. I figured that many of you may be in the same boat, so why not put down all the things I think are interesting that may inspire a trip or two, both near and far. Yes there are some real bucket list suggestions (Le Mans Classic, Mille Miglia, Tour de France, Palio!), but we’ve also gone deep on the really approachable stuff that I love.
MAY
3/6-7/25 Polaroids: True to its name, this more than four month-long exhibit at Berlin’s Helmut Newton Foundation is a commemoration of that once cutting-edge, now retro-cool development in photography: the polaroid photo. It includes hundreds of polaroids taken by Newton himself, plus those of 60 other photographers.
3/7-7/6 Caravaggio 2025: There’s no shortage of splashy museum exhibitions happening in Rome at any given time, but the Caravaggio show held at the Palazzo Barberini through the first week of July is the ticket.
5/3 Kentucky Derby: The most exciting two minutes in sports, and the kick-off to the Triple Crown.
5/13-5/18 Brimfield Flea Market: Legendary in antique and vintage circles for good reason, the Brimfield Flea Market brings pickers far and wide to the little town of Brimfield, MA three times a year—this is its first edition, with further dates in July and September.
5/14-5/18 Nantucket Food & Wine Festival: There’s never a bad time to visit the Grey Lady. But there may be few better than the NFWF, which brings vintners and chefs from across the world to that little rock in the Atlantic for four rosé-soaked days.
5/16-6/22 Simple Minds Alive & Kicking North American Tour 2025: Starting with a May 16th show in Ridgefield, Washington and concluding with a June 22nd performance in Noblesville, Indiana, the Scottish rockers behind what might just be the greatest John Hughes needle drop are touring the U.S. 40 years after The Breakfast Club gave them their place in the ‘80s soundtrack hall of fame.
5/17 Preakness Stakes: The second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes continues the saga at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.
5/17-5/18 TimeFest: TimeFest, as the name implies, is a watch fest, albeit one that’s centered on indie brands above all else and held in the Matmut Atlantique Stadium in Bordeaux. Having launched last year, 2025 is its second rodeo—let’s hope it sticks around.
5/22-5/25 Monaco Grand Prix: Arguably the most famous of all the Formula 1 events, the Monaco Grand Prix tees off with three days of practices, qualifying sessions and track tours before culminating with the race itself on the 25th.