At 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, hundreds of costumed riders roll away from Delray Beach City Hall on the 15th Annual Witches of Delray bike ride. Police escort them through downtown, and they finish at Old School Square by 11 a.m. By then the GreenMarket has been open for two hours on the same campus. The Delray Beach Orchid Society has unlocked the Vintage Gym for its sale. A costumed parade is lining up on Atlantic Avenue for a 1 p.m. start, and it will end at the same lawn.
Six days earlier, on Sunday, Oct. 18, Park Tavern at 32 SE Second Ave. serves its last meal after 15 years.
Fifteen years is also the age of the witches' ride, and that ride is the youngest of the five traditions meeting at Old School Square on Oct. 24. The other four are older. Downtown Delray's restaurant row keeps turning over, while its calendar runs on events that have outlasted almost every dining room on the Avenue.
The Saturday, Hour by Hour
Each event has its own organizer and its own reason for picking this date. Even so, the schedule reads like it was planned as one day. Everything happens at or ends at 51 N. Swinton Ave.
| Time | Event | Where | Organization behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 to 11 a.m. | 15th Annual Witches of Delray bike ride | City Hall to Old School Square | Proceeds benefit Achievement Centers for Children & Families |
| 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Delray Beach GreenMarket, winter season opener | Old School Square campus | Delray Beach CRA |
| 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 36th Annual Orchids on the Square, $5 admission | Vintage Gym | Delray Beach Orchid Society |
| 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Halloween Kidsfest | Old School Square | City of Delray Beach Parks and Recreation |
| 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Trick-or-Treating on the Avenue | Downtown Delray Beach | Downtown Development Authority |
| 1 p.m. | 64th Annual Halloween Parade | Atlantic Ave. and NE 5th Ave. to Old School Square | Listed with Kidsfest |
The parade isn't really something you watch from the sidewalk. According to the Old School Square event page, anyone in costume can line up at Atlantic Avenue and NE 5th Avenue and walk the route. The Rotary Club of Delray Beach hands out free ice cream when walkers arrive at Old School Square. Kidsfest keeps going until 3 p.m. with food, vendors, crafts and bounce houses. The witches' ride also wraps up on the square with awards and entertainment.
The orchid sale runs on its own clock. It goes until 5 p.m. Saturday and comes back Sunday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If the morning crowds are too much, you can come back for the plants the next day.
Counting the Years
Put the ages of the day's events next to each other and the gap with the restaurant scene is easy to see.
- 64th Annual Halloween Parade
- 36th Annual Orchids on the Square
- 31st winter season of the GreenMarket, which the Delray Beach CRA started in 1996
- 15th Annual Witches of Delray ride
Now look at the Avenue in 2026. Boca Raton Magazine counts Park Tavern as the fourth Atlantic Avenue restaurant to close this year, after True Vegan, Lefkes Estiatorio and Cut 432. Lefkes lasted less than two years downtown, according to the Palm Beach Post. True Vegan shut its Delray location and announced a move to West Palm Beach. Cut 432 closed at the end of April. Its website said the team plans to reopen somewhere else, but the location hadn't been chosen yet.
So on Oct. 24, the youngest tradition on the schedule will have lasted as long as one of the Avenue's longest-running dining rooms did. The parade has been going for more than four times that long.
Park Tavern's Last Week
Park Tavern announced the closing on Instagram on Wednesday, Oct. 7: "Cheers to an amazing 15 years! As we prepare to close our doors, we're raising a glass to the guests, team members and community who made Park Tavern what it is. Join us for one last bite." The Palm Beach Post reported that the last day of service is Sunday, Oct. 18. The restaurant didn't give a reason.
The Post described the place as known for its happy hours and scratch kitchen. Signature dishes included the PT cheesesteak with shaved prime rib, caramelized onions, forest mushrooms, jalapeños and fontina, along with the Farmhouse chicken sandwich, fish and chips, and chicken and waffles. The Post also quoted one social media commenter who wrote "there goes the best happy hour on the Ave."
If you want one more meal there, the Post lists these hours for the final stretch:
- Monday to Thursday, dinner 4 to 9 p.m., bar until 1 a.m.
- Friday, dinner 4 to 10 p.m., bar until 1 a.m.
- Saturday, brunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner 4 to 10 p.m., bar until 1 a.m.
- Sunday, brunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner 4 to 9 p.m., bar until 10 p.m.
There's an ownership thread here too. Park Tavern and Cut 432 both belonged to Modern Restaurant Group. After Oct. 18, El Camino will be MRG's only remaining concept, according to Boca Raton Magazine. It has four locations, in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Delray Beach. By the night of Oct. 18, two of that local group's three concepts will have left the Avenue in under six months.
Why the Calendar Holds Steady
The Oct. 24 events share a structure that restaurants don't have. None of them depends on a single lease or a single owner's plans. The GreenMarket is run by the CRA, which started it in 1996 and has kept it going as a Saturday fixture with a winter season and a summer season. The witches' ride raises money for Achievement Centers for Children & Families and its early learning, after-school, summer camp and family programs. The orchid sale belongs to a club. The trick-or-treat route is run by the Downtown Development Authority, and Kidsfest by the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
The GreenMarket also ties the opening Saturday to the rest of the season. It runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through May 22, 2027, with more than 70 local growers, makers and food vendors. It has an on-site cooking area with seating, a section for nonprofit vendors, and rotating spots for small businesses. SNAP benefits are accepted. Shoppers stop at the EBT booth first, swipe their card, and get tokens to spend at the stalls. Once Halloween is over, the Saturday routine that starts on Oct. 24 keeps going for seven more months.
Downtown Between Now and Mid-December
The cultural calendar is filling in around the Oct. 24 anchor. Here's what's already scheduled:
- Oct. 16, 23, 30 and 31: Arts Garage hosts Nicole Henry, Néstor Torres, the mentalist show Mysterion, and Turn It On Again, a Phil Collins tribute, each at 8 p.m.
- Nov. 6: the Downtown Development Authority's First Friday Art Walk runs 6 to 9 p.m. through downtown galleries and cultural centers. Special events for that night were still listed as to be announced.
- Nov. 7 and 8: Art on the Square brings a fine art show to the Cornell Art Museum lawn and Swinton Avenue, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Old School Square is the center of downtown for the second weekend in a row.
- Nov. 20 to Dec. 13: the Delray Beach Playhouse opens its 2026–27 Main Stage season with Hairspray at 950 NW 9th St.
- Dec. 1: Delray's 100-foot Christmas tree is lit at 7 p.m. during the Yuletide Festival at Old School Square, which runs 6 to 9 p.m.
The new arrivals are still on the way. Maman, the French café chain, is expected to open at 40 S. Swinton Ave. in November, according to the Boca Raton Observer. In June, the Palm Beach Post reported that chef Raheem Sealy's Drinking Pig BBQ planned to open at 22 W. Atlantic Ave. in September. The DDA's business directory still lists it as "Coming Soon."
Drinking Pig has already missed its September target, and Maman's November date is still a projection. If either one lasts fifteen years, it will be as old as the witches' ride is this month.
If you live near downtown and wonder how changes like these play out on the blocks around Old School Square, I'm happy to talk through what I'm seeing on the Avenue this season. I'm Kristen Reilly, and I'd love to hear what you find at the GreenMarket on opening day. Let's Connect.