Keszthely is packing 2026 with festivals, exhibitions, concerts, theater, films, museum workshops, foodie pop-ups, sports, and a stack of guaranteed and pick‑your‑own leisure programs across multiple venues citywide. From intimate talks to blockbuster musicals and kid‑centric days by the lake, here’s what’s on from May into June—and what’s coming next.
May 6: Theater hit Too Sharp sells out
At 7:00 p.m. on May 6, the Loupe Theatre Company stages Nathan Ellis’s Too Sharp, the third show in the 2026 Spring Pass. Tickets, originally priced at about $20.50–$24.60, have sold out. Anna, a 31‑year‑old doctor, is burned out by a system that erases private life. Ellis threads five women’s stories through the cracks of healthcare, offering razor‑clear snapshots without a diagnosis—only the invisible bonds that hold us mid‑fall. Cast: Dóra Sztarenki, Eszter Földes, Dorka Gryllus, Katalin Takács, Alíz Szatmári, Dániel Brezovszky. Creative team includes translator and director János Antal Horváth; dramaturg Réka Ágnes Tóth; set by Anna Fekete; costumes by Nina Kaszás; music by Virág Zazie Farkas; choreography by Márton Csuzi; visual assistant Janka Nagy; director’s associate Letícia Papp. The performance runs 120 minutes, no interval.
Post‑show, stick around for a free audience meet‑and‑greet moderated by film and theater director Károly Ujj Mészáros with the full cast. Start time may shift depending on curtain down.
May 7: Dürer at 555
Art historian and chief curator Laura Kardos dives into The Harmony of Mind and Imagination—555 Years Since the Birth of Albrecht Dürer at the Balaton Theatre, Simándy Hall, 4:00 p.m. Free entry.
May 8–June 4: Straw craft exhibition
The ASzakkör program’s Straw Weaving Circle opens its Keszthely exhibition on May 8 at 5:00 p.m. in the Balaton Theatre’s Kacsóh Hall; free to visit through June 4. Expect a window onto traditional craft techniques reimagined by dedicated learners. Opening by Renáta Dervalics of the National Institute of Culture, Zala County Directorate; welcome by Bálint Osvald, director of the Goldmark Károly Cultural Centre; musical contribution by Sheila Judit Varjassi from the Életfa Art School.
May 9: Omega musical thunders in
Gyöngyhajú lány (Pearl‑Haired Girl) lands May 9 at 7:00 p.m., Balaton Theatre main stage, featuring ExperiDance’s legacy via Re‑Production dancers and lead Kóbor Léna. Tickets: about $35.30 and $40.70. Writer‑director Zsolt Pozsgai and music director Zsolt Gömöry fold a coming‑of‑age tale by Lake Balaton into Trombitás Frédi’s night tour, powered by 21 Omega hits and a 50 m² LED horizon wall. Cast highlights: Máté Szabó, László Sánta, Nikolett Füredi, Réka Koós, Gabriella Varga, Nelly Fésűs, Ádám Lux, Sándor Tóth, László Janik, Viktória Magyar—and Kóbor Léna as Kriszta since the 2023 Csepel Whitsun premiere. The show won the 2016 Best Musical Dance Performance prize and is recognized as part of Omega’s sacred legacy. Expect Trombitás Frédi, Régi csibészek, Ezüst eső, Petróleumlámpa, Ha én szél lehetnék, Gyöngyhajú lány and more.
On the water and into the reeds
All month long, sign up for guided trips from the Little Balaton (Kis‑Balaton) Visitor Center to Diás Island’s István Fekete memorial and the Matula hut—by private vehicle, golf cart, or canoe. Keszthely’s lake cruises and outdoor city adventure games also run in consecutive weekly blocks from early May through June, letting you unlock local landmarks in puzzle‑hunt style between shoreline sailings.
May 11: Round‑the‑world photo night
The Globetrotter Club swings through Oceania, Asia, Africa, and South America at 6:00 p.m., Balaton Theatre, Simándy Hall. Photographer‑traveler Roland Markó shares images and human stories. Free.
May 13: Witch’s Kitchen for kids, and pets for the soul
At 10:00 a.m., Batyu Színház turns ladles, pots, and tea towels into heroes in Witch’s Kitchen (Boszorkánykonyha), a 40–45 minute object‑puppet show in Simándy Hall. Tickets: about $8.20. Classics like The Itty‑Bitty Rhyme (Iciri‑piciri) by Zsigmond Móricz, the folk tales The Bear and the Cat and Stone Soup, and Elek Benedek’s The Salt bubble up from everyday tools. Cast: Nelli Kontha, Krisztina Borbély. Music by Péter Csák; puppets by Csilla Vizi; props by Nicolette Aranyos; directed by Nelli Kontha.
At 5:00 p.m., the free Psyche Workshop in Básti Hall features counseling psychologist and animal‑assisted therapist Nóra Angyal‑Szilvás on companion animals’ impact on mental health from infancy to old age.
May 14: The Secret with mentalist Danny Blue
Danny Blue’s The Secret promises mind‑reading theater at 7:00 p.m., Balaton Theatre main stage. Tickets about $24.10, $29.30, $34.60, $39.80. Audience reactions call it chilling, unforgettable, and meticulously prepared.
Late May highlights
– May 21: How Would I Elves… A Musical Time‑Travel with the ZsigmondLala Musical Studio’s amateur group, 6:00 p.m., main stage. About $12.40. A 2h20m jukebox sprint through ’80s–2000s hits, ages 10+.
– May 28: I Misread That! Dávid Dennis Musimbe’s new stand‑up, hosted by Orsolya Sipos, 7:00 p.m., main stage. About $18.70–$21.40.
– May 30: Love Is No Shame—Songs from Old Films, 6:00 p.m., main stage, about $24.20. The Rátonyi Róbert Theatre revives 1930s–40s Hungarian film evergreens with live band Palermo, starring Edit Vörös, Sándor Domoszlai, Tamás Heller, and László Gonda. Expect charleston, shimmy, foxtrot, and swing; composers include Mihály Eisemann, Alfréd Márkus, Pál Ábrahám, Károly De Fries, Szabolcs Fényes.
May 31: City Children’s Day on the lakefront
On the Balaton shore, Sunday is for kids. Stage program: 2:00 p.m. Tüsi the Clown; 2:40 p.m. Maminbaba babywearing Latin fitness; 3:00 p.m. Goldmark Cultural Centre dance groups; 4:00 p.m. ÜSTökös Family Company: The Old Fisherman and His Ambitious Wife; 5:00–6:00 p.m. HandaBanda interactive concert. Extras: 2:00–6:00 p.m. obstacle course with Kölyöktorna Sports Club; 4:00–6:00 p.m. flashing emergency vehicles showcase; 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Water Rescue Service and volunteer programs at multiple lakeside spots with game stations, stamp hunts, and live demos.
June sneak peek: Jazz, City Day, and camps
– June 3: Lilla Orbay Quintet at Balaton Theatre, tickets about $10.90.
– June 5–7: Keszthely City Day on the Main Square with protocol events, outdoor entertainment, craft workshops, concerts, and a dance house. Full schedule coming soon.
– June 22–26: Summer Break Dance Camp, GKMK Grand Hall, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., ages 5–10. Capacity 10–15. Lead: Zsuzsanna Dézsenyi. Fee about $52.20. Register by May 29 at +36 30 1370 613 (8 a.m.–4 p.m.).
– June 25: Áron Tálas Trio at Balaton Theatre, tickets about $10.90.
– June 29–July 3: Summer Break—Pottery Camp 1 at the Pottery Workshop, Lehel St. 2, guiding kids from hand‑built basics to wheel‑thrown forms over five techniques and five days.
Boat trips and outdoor adventure games continue most weeks in June, alongside recurring guided Little Balaton (Kis‑Balaton) excursions—so you can keep mixing culture with canoes, musicals with marshes, and jazz with sunset sails.
