Things to Do in Delray Beach This Summer: 2026 Local Guide
July 9, 2026
July 9, 2026
Summer in Delray Beach works best when you stop treating the calendar like a festival list.
The useful pattern is simpler. Start with a neighborhood. Pick a time of day. Use the free parking offers. Then pair one scheduled event with something nearby.
That is how the remaining 2026 calendar fits together. Old School Square handles the big outdoor nights. Pineapple Grove covers art and indoor music. The Set brings the calendar west. Morikami gives you a full west Delray day. The library and historical society fill in the quieter mornings and weeknights.
If you are searching for things to do in Delray Beach this summer, these are the dates worth saving from July 15 forward.
| Date | Event | Location | Cost note |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 18 | Summer GreenMarket | Old School Square | Free entry |
| July 18 | Yōkai Day | Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens | Museum admission, plus $5 for the film |
| July 18 | The Motowners | Arts Garage | Ticketed |
| July 20 | STREAM Trailblazers | Delray Beach Children’s Garden | Registration required |
| July 22 | Art & Jazz on the Avenue | Pineapple Grove | Free |
| July 24 | Summer Sunset Concert | Old School Square | Free general admission |
| July 24 | Moonflower, The Spirit of Santana | Arts Garage | $53 to $58 |
| July 28 | Full Moon Yoga and Ecstatic Night | Old School Square | Free, with a suggested $5 donation |
| July 29 | Delray in the Sky Drone Show | Old School Square | Free |
| August 2 | Coco Market | Old School Square | Free |
| August 7 | First Friday Art Walk | Downtown galleries and cultural centers | Free |
| August 11 | 100 Years of Surfing in Delray Beach & Beyond | Delray Beach Historical Society | Check event details |
| August 12 | Gin, Rum & Rummy | Delray Beach Public Library | $25, registration required |
| August 15 and 16 | Obon Weekend | Morikami | Museum admission, plus separate taiko tickets |
| August 27 | Sounds of The Set | Libby Wesley Plaza to The Hive | Free |
| August 28 | Party in Paradise | Old School Square | Free general admission |
Schedules can change. Check the current Downtown Delray event calendar before leaving home.
July 18 shows how to use this calendar. You have three choices with different settings and price points.
The Delray Summer GreenMarket runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Old School Square. This is one of the final two summer dates, with the season ending July 25. More than 50 vendors and live music are scheduled.
The 2026 vendor mix has several new names. Look for Boba Beach Club, The Pretzel Atelier, Taste T’s Pastries, MeatCore and Zen Coast Food & Beverage Co. Go early, shop, and keep the rest of the day open.
For a longer daytime plan, head west to Yōkai Day at Morikami. The program runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It includes crafts, storytelling, a garden scavenger hunt and two screenings of Spirited Away. Most activities are included with museum admission. The film costs another $5.
Want an indoor evening instead? The Motowners perform at Arts Garage in Pineapple Grove from 8 to 10 p.m.
One date. Three useful formats. Market morning, museum day or indoor concert.
The Delray Beach Public Library takes its STREAM Trailblazers program to the Delray Beach Children’s Garden on Monday, July 20, from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
The weather-dependent session is designed for ages 3 through 10. It includes a character parade, stories, songs, garden play and hands-on activities. Registration is required.
A separate session for ages 3 through 5 is scheduled at Catherine Strong Splash Park on July 27. That program runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and also requires registration.
These are short, focused morning plans. They leave the afternoon open and avoid turning a weekday activity into an all-day commitment.
Art & Jazz on the Avenue takes over Pineapple Grove on Wednesday, July 22, from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
The program includes live music, live mural art, children’s activities, local artist vendors and street dining. The event centers on NE Second Avenue, not the beachside section of Atlantic Avenue.
There is one practical catch. NE Second Avenue will close from Atlantic Avenue to south of NE Third Street near The Ray Shops. Park outside the closure and walk in.
The timing helps. Delray’s 2026 Free Parking Wednesdays program applies all day and night at selected city-owned garages and surface lots. That includes the Old School Square, Federspiel and IPIC garages.
This is the kind of pairing that saves time and money: free event, free city parking and a walkable Pineapple Grove route.
Friday, July 24 presents a clean choice.
The free Summer Sunset Concert opens its gates at 5 p.m. at Old School Square. Delray band The Flyers plays from 6 to 7:20 p.m. Smokin’ Renegade follows with a Boston and Foreigner tribute from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
General admission is free. Bring a lawn chair and arrive early. Entry closes when the venue reaches capacity. A $50 VIP option is also listed.
Arts Garage offers the indoor alternative. Moonflower, The Spirit of Santana, performs from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets are listed at $53 to $58.
Pick Old School Square for a free outdoor night. Pick Arts Garage for reserved, air-conditioned entertainment in Pineapple Grove. You do not need to overplan either one.
The final week of July brings two very different events to the same location.
On Tuesday, July 28, Full Moon Yoga and Ecstatic Night Under the Stars runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Arrival and vendor browsing begin at 6 p.m. The all-level yoga flow runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., followed by a DJ-led dance session from 8 to 9 p.m.
The event is free. Registration is available, and organizers suggest a $5 donation.
On Wednesday, July 29, Delray in the Sky runs from 6 to 9 p.m. The America 250 program includes live entertainment, food vendors, dueling pianos and family activities. The drone show starts at 8:30 p.m.
The Wednesday parking offer applies here too. Park in a participating city facility, walk to the Square and keep the transportation cost at zero.
August starts at Old School Square with Coco Market on Sunday, August 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The free program includes yoga, meditation, sound baths, workshops, wellness services, food and local vendors. Bring a refillable bottle if you want to use the filtered water available at the event.
On Friday, August 7, the current downtown calendar lists First Friday Art Walk from 6 to 9 p.m. Named stops include Cornell Art Museum, Arts Warehouse, Gallery 255 and Pineapple Grove studios. Participating locations can change, so confirm the night’s lineup on the official calendar before building your route.
Arts Warehouse deserves a separate stop this summer. The facility reopened in June after updates that included a new roof and air-conditioning units, floor repairs, interior work and refreshed exterior finishes.
Admission is free. Beautifully Broken remains on view through July 25. Keren Kroul’s When only the void stood between us runs through August 22. That makes the refreshed Arts Warehouse a useful indoor option even when you are not attending Art Walk.
The Delray Beach Historical Society hosts 100 Years of Surfing in Delray Beach & Beyond on Tuesday, August 11.
Surfing Florida Museum executive director and local historian Tom Warnke leads the program. The social starts at 6 p.m., and the lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. The location is the Historical Society bungalow at 3 NE First Street. The Old School Square garage is across the street.
The next night, the Delray Beach Public Library shifts to an adults-only format. Gin, Rum & Rummy runs Wednesday, August 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. The 21-and-older event includes cocktails, mocktails, light bites and open-play tables. Admission is $25, and registration is required.
These smaller programs provide a useful break between the larger outdoor nights. They are specific to Delray and easy to fit into a normal week.
Morikami’s Obon Weekend runs Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The daytime program includes remembrance slips, an altar honoring George Morikami, family activities, food and artisan vendors, and performances by Fushu Daiko. Taiko tickets cost $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers, in addition to museum admission.
The Launch the Lantern Dinner is a separate fundraiser on Sunday, August 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $200. The event includes dinner, sake and whiskey tastings, taiko, a personal lantern and a lantern launch on the lake. Attendance is limited to ages 16 and older.
Keep the two experiences separate when planning. The daytime Obon program follows regular museum hours. The evening dinner requires its own ticket.
Sounds of The Set runs Thursday, August 27, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The free event stretches from Libby Wesley Plaza to The Hive along SW Fifth Avenue. J.M. and the Sweets are scheduled, along with The Blackmer’s Market, local vendors, art and cultural programming.
The next evening, Old School Square hosts Party in Paradise from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 28. General admission is free with a lawn chair. Listed activities include live bands, a costume contest, limbo and coconut painting. VIP admission is $50.
Those two nights close the month with two different neighborhood experiences. Start west on Thursday. Return downtown Friday.
Through August 26, parking is free every Wednesday, all day and night, at these city-owned facilities:
On-street spaces and private lots are excluded. Review the city’s Free Parking Wednesdays details before you go.
Delray Beach residents can also receive a 50-cent-per-hour discount on metered on-street parking through ParkMobile. Downtown users can activate the first 20 minutes free, although the app applies a transaction fee. Freebee offers complimentary rides between downtown, Atlantic Avenue and the beach.
Use the Wednesday offer for Art & Jazz, the drone show and other midweek plans. Park once. Walk when possible. Use Freebee when the next stop is farther east.
The best Delray summer plan is rarely one event by itself.
Pair GreenMarket with Arts Warehouse. Combine Art & Jazz with free Wednesday parking. Choose between an outdoor concert at Old School Square and an indoor show at Arts Garage. Give Morikami its own day. Follow Sounds of The Set with the next night’s Old School Square program.
That approach gives you more value with less driving, less parking expense and fewer schedule gaps.
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