Two of downtown Delray Beach’s art nights are produced by the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA): First Friday Art Walk, every month, and Art and Jazz on the Avenue, a few times a year. We read both DDA event pages on Oct. 20, 2026. Here is what they say, what they leave out, and the dates that follow from the DDA’s own rule.
As of Oct. 20, 2026
First Friday Art Walk: the first Friday of each month, 6 PM to 9 PM, free. Next listed date: Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, 17 days after the date we checked. Art and Jazz 2027: Feb. 24, 2027 (West Atlantic Avenue) and May 26, 2027 (beachside). No hours posted for either.
- The DDA says First Friday Art Walk happens on the first Friday of each month, 6 PM to 9 PM, and lists Friday, November 6 (2026) as the next date. It is a free, self-guided evening of galleries, studios and pop-up live music. Delray Beach DDA: First Friday Art Walk
First Friday Art Walk hours
The DDA’s First Friday Art Walk page says the walk happens on the first Friday of each month from 6 PM to 9 PM. It is a free, self-guided evening of galleries, studios and pop-up live music. There is no ticket and no set route. You walk between the open galleries and studios at your own pace.
The page does not name a season or any skipped months, so by the DDA’s wording it runs all year. It also does not rule out a skip around the holidays. If a date matters to you, check the DDA page that week.
Next First Friday dates
The DDA lists one date ahead: Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. The dates below are the first Fridays that follow from the DDA’s rule. We worked them out from the calendar; the DDA has not posted them.
- Nov. 6, 2026 (the date the DDA lists)
- Dec. 4, 2026
- Jan. 1, 2027 (New Year’s Day, so confirm with the DDA)
- Feb. 5, 2027
- March 5, 2027
- April 2, 2027
Jan. 1, 2027 is a first Friday and also New Year’s Day. Nothing we read says whether the walk goes ahead that night, so call the DDA on 561-243-1077 before planning around it.
- The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority lists its office at 350 SE 1st St, Delray Beach, FL 33483, phone 561-243-1077. Delray Beach DDA: Safety Ambassadors
How to plan a First Friday
- Check the DDA page in the week of the walk for that month’s date.
- Arrive near 6 PM if you want the full three hours.
- Park once, or come by Freebee, and walk between stops.
- Book dinner for before 6 PM or after 9 PM if you want to see the whole walk.
Making a night of it
The DDA places the galleries and studios downtown. Our Pineapple Grove page covers NE 2nd Avenue north of Atlantic, and our Old School Square guide covers the Cornell Art Museum, which the DDA says is free and open Wednesday to Sunday. The DDA does not list which galleries take part in a given month, so we do not either.
- The DDA says the Cornell Art Museum is free and open to the public Wednesday to Sunday. Delray Beach DDA: The Story of Old School Square
Arts Garage, at 94 NE 2nd Ave, lists box office hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 1 PM to 5 PM and during performance hours, and two galleries. Its page does not say whether it opens for the art walk, so check its calendar for the Friday you plan to go.
- Arts Garage is at 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33444, phone 561-450-6357. It calls itself a 501(c)(3) non-profit, with a main stage (the Stuart & Shelby Theatre) and two galleries (the Marshall Family Foundation Gallery and the Black Box Gallery). Box office hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 1 PM to 5 PM and during performance hours. Arts Garage: home page
Friday evening logistics: the City’s free Freebee ride runs until 11 PM on Thursday to Saturday. The DDA’s Safety Ambassadors, in yellow shirts, are on call until 11 PM on Friday and Saturday at 561-386-1134 and offer safe walks within the downtown district. For dinner before or after, see our restaurants guide, and for where to leave the car, our parking page.
- The City and the DDA list Freebee hours as Sunday to Wednesday 11 AM to 9 PM, and Thursday to Saturday 11 AM to 11 PM. City of Delray Beach: Delray Beach Freebee
- The DDA's Downtown Safety Ambassadors wear yellow shirts, patrol on bike, golf cart and foot, and offer safe walks within the downtown district. They are on call Monday to Thursday 7 AM to 9 PM and Friday and Saturday 7 AM to 11 PM at 561-386-1134. Delray Beach DDA: Safety Ambassadors
Staying over? The morning after the Nov. 6 walk is Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, a GreenMarket day at Old School Square from 9 AM to 2 PM. Our GreenMarket dates article lists the Saturdays the market is closed.
Art and Jazz on the Avenue: the 2027 dates
The DDA says it created Art and Jazz on the Avenue in the late 1980s and holds it three times a year in rotating downtown locations. Its Art and Jazz page lists two dates for 2027:
- Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2027: West Atlantic Avenue, from West 3rd Avenue to West 6th Avenue. That is 127 days after the date we checked.
- Wednesday, May 26, 2027: the beachside of East Atlantic Avenue.
- The DDA says Art & Jazz on the Avenue is held three times a year in rotating downtown locations and was created by the DDA in the late 1980s. Delray Beach DDA: Signature Events
- The DDA lists two 2027 Art & Jazz on the Avenue dates: February 24, 2027 on West Atlantic Avenue from West 3rd Ave to West 6th Ave, and May 26, 2027 on the beachside of East Atlantic Avenue. Hours are not stated for either date. Delray Beach DDA: Art & Jazz on the Avenue
Three things are not published. The DDA gives no hours for either date. It has not posted the third 2027 date. And no 2026 date is listed, so we have no Art and Jazz to point to before February. We will add hours when the DDA posts them, not before.
The DDA also produces Savor the Avenue and Restaurant Month. The rest of the season, from the GreenMarket to the Delray Affair, is on our events page, where the date checker answers “what is on this date?”
- The DDA says it produces signature events to bring economic vitality downtown, including First Friday Art Walk, Art & Jazz on the Avenue, Savor the Avenue and Restaurant Month. Delray Beach DDA: Signature Events
Art walk and arts questions
When is the Delray Affair?
The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce lists April 9 to 11, 2027, along 7 downtown city blocks.
Source: Delray Affair (Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce)
What is Old School Square?
A historic school campus at 51 N Swinton Ave that is now an arts center. The DDA says the City bought it in 1987 and reopened the buildings in 1990 as the Cornell Art Museum, the Crest Theatre and the Vintage Gym.
How old are the Old School Square buildings?
The Delray Beach Historical Society says Delray Elementary School (now the Cornell Museum) was built in 1913, and the Delray High School building (now the Crest Theatre) and the gymnasium in 1925.
Source: Delray Beach Historical Society: An Old School Inspires a Town
Is the Cornell Art Museum free?
The DDA says the Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square is free and open to the public Wednesday to Sunday.
What is the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum?
A museum of Black history and heritage at 170 NW Fifth Avenue. It says it was established in 2001 and that the Spady House turns 100 in 2026.
Which museums are closed on Mondays?
The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum lists hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 4 PM, or by appointment. Sandoway Discovery Center also lists Monday as closed, and the DDA says the Cornell Art Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday.
How much is Sandoway Discovery Center?
Sandoway Discovery Center, 142 South Ocean Blvd., lists admission of $10 per person, ages 3 and up. It is closed Monday; open Tuesday to Friday 12 PM to 4 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM and Sunday 12 PM to 4 PM. Shark and stingray feeding is at 1 PM Tuesday to Sunday, with an extra Saturday feeding at 11 AM.
Written by the Atlantic Avenue Guide Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.
Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: City of Delray Beach (official site)
