Rent a Bus to Old School Square: Delray Beach Arts & Events Guide

Old School Square sits at the corner of Atlantic and Swinton Avenues in the heart of downtown Delray Beach — a six-acre historic campus that draws half a million visitors a year for concerts, festivals, art exhibitions, and free community events. Getting your group there is the easy part. Finding parking for fifteen or thirty cars on a Friday night when the Pavilion gates open, or navigating the Atlantic Avenue road closures during the Delray Affair, is where things fall apart fast.

This guide answers the logistics plainly: where a bus drops your group at Old School Square, which garages are nearby and why none of them are built for a caravan, what the biggest annual events do to parking and street access, and how a Delray Beach bus rental keeps the whole group together from pickup to curtain call. We handle these trips to Old School Square regularly, so the advice below comes from knowing this campus and this corridor — not from a map screenshot.

What Is Old School Square? A Quick Orientation

Old School Square is not a single building — it is a nationally recognized arts and cultural campus built inside two restored historic schools listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 1913 Delray Elementary building, saved from demolition by a citizen task force in the mid-1980s after the Palm Beach County School District walked away, became the Cornell Art Museum of Art and American Culture. The 1925 Delray High School building, directly north on the same site, became the Crest Theatre, which opened its first season in 1993.

A vintage gymnasium and the Entertainment Pavilion — the outdoor amphitheater that opened in 2002 — complete the campus.

More than $7 million went into the restoration, and it worked. Old School Square is credited with igniting the 1990s renaissance of Atlantic Avenue and the broader downtown. Today the campus welcomes over half a million people annually for museum exhibitions, Crest Theatre performances, outdoor concerts at the Pavilion, festivals across the campus grounds, fitness classes, and community markets.

It is, by most measures, the anchor of downtown Delray Beach — which is also why parking within a block of it is nearly impossible on any evening or weekend when something is happening.

Where a Bus Drops Off at Old School Square

Here is the part most groups figure out the hard way, circling the block while everyone in the car argues about where to stop. Old School Square sits at a downtown intersection, so there is no dedicated bus staging area on the campus itself. What there is: a clean curbside drop-off on N Swinton Avenue immediately in front of the main campus entrance, and an additional option on NE 1st Street along the north side of the property.

Either puts your group steps from the Pavilion gates or the Cornell Art Museum entrance without anyone hiking from a remote lot.

After the drop, the bus moves to wait somewhere nearby — either the Old School Square Parking Garage at 95 NE 1st Ave one block east, or an agreed spot while your group is inside. On Sundays, all City of Delray Beach public garages are free, which makes things simpler. On weekday evenings and Saturdays, garage rates run $1.50/hour with payment at kiosks or via the ParkMobile app.

The key detail: those garages are built for sedans, and their clearance and layout is not designed for a coach bus — which is exactly why a plan to drop the group at the curb and set a pickup time is how these trips work in practice.

For large events like a gated Pavilion concert or the Garlic Fest, curbside access on Swinton Avenue may be briefly managed by event staff, so we confirm how we handle the drop for your specific event date when you book. We recommend checking the official Old School Square events calendar and the City of Delray Beach parking page before your visit to confirm current access and any temporary closures.

The Venues on Campus: What Your Group Is Going To

Where your group is headed shapes the drop-off plan and the pickup time, so it is worth knowing what each venue at Old School Square actually is.

The Pavilion

The outdoor Entertainment Pavilion is the heart of Old School Square's event calendar — a 3,500-capacity amphitheater that hosts the Free Sunset Concert Series, gated ticketed concerts, community festivals, and major events like the Garlic Fest main stage. Gates typically open at 5:00 PM for most events. For the Free Sunset Concerts on the 4th Friday of each month (scheduled for June 26, July 24, and August 28, 2026), general admission is always free; VIP tickets at $50 include a dedicated bar area and one complimentary drink.

For ticketed shows, check the Old School Square tickets page for current availability — the Pavilion fills fast for national tribute acts and headliner weekends.

Cornell Art Museum

The Cornell Art Museum of Art and American Culture occupies the restored 1913 elementary school building at the corner of Atlantic and Swinton. Admission is free, though donations are appreciated — making it an easy group stop for art lovers, school trips, and visitors wanting to understand Delray Beach's creative identity before a bigger evening event. Museum-goers typically spend 60 to 90 minutes inside.

Crest Theatre

The Crest Theatre is a 320-seat indoor performance space inside the 1925 high school building, hosting everything from touring theatrical productions and comedy nights to film screenings and lectures. If your group is coming for a Crest Theatre performance, the drop-off on Swinton or NE 1st Street puts you at the entrance in under two minutes on foot. Check the Old School Square concerts and events page for the current Crest Theatre lineup — shows sell out more than most visitors expect.

The Gymnasium and Campus Grounds

The vintage 1925 gymnasium hosts private events, rental gatherings, and the weekly Delray GreenMarket, which runs on the campus grounds from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturdays. Summer GreenMarket runs May 30 through July 25, 2026. If your group is coming for a market morning, the Swinton Avenue curbside drop handles the arrival cleanly before Atlantic Avenue fills up.

The Events That Make Parking Impossible — and When They Are

Downtown Delray Beach has a genuine event calendar problem: the same blocks that are pleasant and walkable on a Tuesday become a logistical wall on event weekends. For a group, that wall is concrete. Here are the dates your group should know, what each one does to parking and street access, and why booking a Delray Beach bus rental months out is not overcautious — it is just right.

Delray Affair — April 10–12, 2026

The Delray Affair is one of the largest arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast United States — 400-plus artists and food vendors spanning 10 city blocks of Atlantic Avenue. The event runs 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Friday and Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Sunday, and it draws enormous crowds to the exact corridor that includes Old School Square. Atlantic Avenue closes to vehicle traffic for the event's stretch, metered street parking along the main strip becomes unavailable, and all downtown garages fill by late morning on both weekend days.

The official free parking and shuttle option runs from the Palm Beach County Administrative Complex at 345 S. Congress Avenue — but the shuttle takes up to 30 minutes each way, and if your group is arriving and departing on a schedule (for a meal reservation or a separate event later), that buffer makes individual timing almost impossible to control. A charter bus or minibus rental picks your whole group up, drops at Swinton Avenue before the crowds build, and coordinates the return pickup at a specific time — no shuttle queue, no scattered timing across fifteen phone conversations. The official Delray Affair parking map shows all the options; the shuttle is worth it for solo visitors, and a bus is the clear call for groups of ten or more.

Garlic Fest — February 28 – March 1, 2026

The South Florida Garlic Fest returned to Old School Square for 2026 — the 27th annual edition of this beloved culinary festival, this time back on the campus it called home for years. General admission runs $15 (children under 10 free), with Saturday hours 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM and Sunday 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The festival draws 20,000-plus attendees and books national headliners — the Spin Doctors headlined 2026's Saturday night — meaning the Pavilion area fills up by early afternoon on both days and nearby parking on NE 1st Avenue and Swinton is gone by late morning.

One bus handles your whole crew from a central pickup point and gets you there before the crunch.

Free Sunset Concerts — Monthly, June through August 2026

The 4th Friday of each month through summer, Old School Square opens the Pavilion for free concerts featuring regional and national bands. Gates at 5:00 PM, shows typically run into the evening. These concerts attract a mix of locals and visitors, and the Old School Square Parking Garage at 95 NE 1st Ave fills completely by 6:00 PM on concert evenings — then the Federspiel Garage at 22 SE 1st Ave, and then the street metered spots.

For a group coming from Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, or any point north on US-1 or I-95, the parking math is simple: a minibus rental in Delray Beach solves the problem before it starts, and nobody ends up walking six blocks in the Florida summer heat from wherever they finally found a spot. Scheduled 2026 dates: June 26, July 24, August 28.

Downtown Delray Festival of the Arts — January 2026 (Recurring Annually)

The Downtown Delray Beach Festival of the Arts is a juried outdoor art show spanning five blocks of West Atlantic Avenue — and during the event, West Atlantic Avenue closes to vehicle traffic from Swinton to NW 5th Avenue, with no on-street parking or through-traffic from 3:00 AM Saturday through 10:00 PM Sunday. The recommended approach if you're coming from I-95 is to exit at Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach and route south along Seacrest Boulevard into downtown from the north — a detour that adds 15 to 20 minutes versus the direct Atlantic Avenue approach. A charter bus takes that navigation off your group entirely and waits at an agreed spot while you browse the festival.

Art on the Square — Ongoing Weekend Markets

Art on the Square runs periodic art markets on the Old School Square campus grounds, drawing local and regional artists and consistent foot traffic that fills the NE 1st Avenue garage and the street metered spots around the campus by mid-morning. These markets are lower-impact than the Affair or Garlic Fest, but if your group is combining an Art on the Square visit with a lunch on Atlantic Avenue and a Crest Theatre evening show, a single vehicle with a coordinated itinerary is far simpler than managing parking for multiple cars across three stops.

Getting There: The Drive Into Downtown Delray Beach

Old School Square sits at Atlantic Avenue (State Road 806) and Swinton Avenue in central Delray Beach. The two most common approach routes for groups coming from outside downtown are I-95 and US-1 (Federal Highway), both of which feed into Atlantic Avenue — but which one your group takes depends on where you are starting from and what is happening on the road when you arrive.

The standard inbound route from I-95 is Exit 52 (Atlantic Avenue / SR-806) eastbound, which runs straight into downtown and deposits you directly at the Old School Square campus intersection. That directness is also why this stretch of Atlantic Avenue backs up on event Fridays and Saturdays — everyone heading downtown uses the same exit and the same road.

On event days, Atlantic Avenue between US-1 and Swinton often slows to a crawl by late afternoon as pedestrians claim both sidewalks and restaurant patrons cross mid-block between outdoor seating areas. A bus that has already coordinated its drop zone with your group skips the on-street parking search that creates the crawl in the first place — it pulls to the Swinton Avenue curb, lets your group off, and clears the intersection in under two minutes. Then, when the show ends and the crowd empties onto Atlantic Avenue looking for rideshares, your group walks to the agreed pickup spot and the bus is already there.

Which Vehicle Fits Your Group?

Not every trip to Old School Square calls for the same vehicle. The right call depends on your headcount, how far you are traveling, and whether the ride itself is part of the event or just the transportation to it.

For a group heading from Boca Raton to a Free Sunset Concert at the Pavilion, a 20-passenger minibus covers the group comfortably, handles the parking constraint entirely, and gets everyone home after the show without a rideshare scramble at 10 PM on Atlantic Avenue. For a bachelorette group starting with cocktails on Atlantic Avenue, heading to a Crest Theatre comedy night, and finishing the evening at a late-night spot — a Delray Beach party bus rental keeps the whole itinerary in one vehicle and turns the transportation into part of the celebration.

For the Delray Affair or Garlic Fest, where a large group might include family members of all ages and the event itself runs eight to ten hours, a full-size charter bus with an onboard restroom and undercarriage storage for bags and strollers makes the day significantly more comfortable than splitting across six cars. ADA-accessible vehicles are always available — just let us know in advance and we will have the right vehicle ready.

Group Trip Types We Cover to Old School Square

Different occasions, same goal: everyone arrives together, on time, and without the Atlantic Avenue parking fight. A few of the trip types that come through our network most often for Old School Square.

• Bachelorette and birthday groups. The combination of Old School Square events, Atlantic Avenue restaurants, and nightlife spots like Boston's on the Beach makes Delray Beach a natural full-evening itinerary. A Delray Beach party bus rental keeps the group together across all of it, with built-in LED lighting and a sound system so the celebration starts the moment you pull away from the curb.
• Corporate team outings. A Cornell Art Museum visit paired with a private dinner and a Crest Theatre performance is a straightforward corporate social calendar. A minibus handles the group from the office or hotel, keeps everyone on a schedule, and cuts out the parking planning that adds an hour of coordination to every corporate outing.
• School and youth group field trips. Old School Square's Cornell Art Museum is one of South Florida's most used school field trip destinations. A charter bus takes care of the headcount, provides undercarriage storage for bags and lunches, and drops the group at the Swinton Avenue curb in one coordinated move rather than a carpool drop-off chain that takes forty minutes to sort out.
• Wedding guest shuttles. Couples with venues in downtown Delray Beach increasingly route guest shuttles through Old School Square — especially for ceremonies at venues on or near Atlantic Avenue. A dedicated shuttle loop keeps guests from attempting the Atlantic Avenue parking situation in formal wear.
• Festival groups. For the Delray Affair, Garlic Fest, or Downtown Festival of the Arts, a single bus carrying 30 to 40 people costs less per head, takes up one parking spot instead of fifteen, and gives the group a defined meeting point for departure rather than a scattered end-of-day rideshare scramble.

Bus vs. Driving to Old School Square: The Honest Comparison

We will be straight with you: for one or two people heading to a quick museum visit on a Tuesday afternoon, parking on NE 1st Avenue is manageable and a bus does not make financial sense. But the moment your party grows past a handful of people — or the calendar says Garlic Fest weekend — the math shifts decisively.

The Old School Square Parking Garage at 95 NE 1st Ave has 229 spaces. That sounds like a lot until you factor in that it serves the entire Atlantic Avenue corridor, not just the campus — and on a Free Sunset Concert evening or during the Delray Affair, those spaces are gone by early evening. A group of 30 people in six cars needs six spaces, six separate payment transactions at the ParkMobile kiosk, and six separate text threads figuring out where to meet inside the festival.

One bus drops 30 people at the same curb at the same time. Pickup is the same: you set the spot and the window before you go in, and the bus is there when you come out.

Planning a Full Old School Square Day: Sample Itineraries

The campus and the surrounding Atlantic Avenue district lend themselves to easy multi-stop planning once you are not worried about moving cars between locations. A few itineraries that work well for different group types.

Arts Day (Museum + Lunch + Pavilion)

• 10:30 AM — Bus drops at Swinton Avenue. Group visits Cornell Art Museum (free admission, ~90 minutes).
• 12:30 PM — Lunch on Atlantic Avenue. Dozens of options within two blocks, from Brule Bistro to The Office Bar and Grill.
• 2:30 PM — Stroll the campus grounds and browse Art on the Square market (when scheduled).
• 5:00 PM — Pavilion gates open for Free Sunset Concert. Group heads in together.
• ~8:30 PM — Bus picks up at the agreed Swinton curb spot. Everyone heads home.

Bachelorette Saturday

• 3:00 PM — Bus picks up the group. Pregame drinks at the beach, Atlantic Dunes Park area.
• 6:00 PM — Drop at Old School Square Pavilion for a ticketed evening show.
• After the show — Atlantic Avenue bar hop. Party bus stages and returns at the agreed time.
• Late night — Group returns to the bus at the Swinton curb. No rideshare app math, no surge pricing.

Delray Affair Festival Group

• 9:30 AM — Bus picks up at a central meeting point. Arrive before Atlantic Avenue closes to traffic.
• 10:00 AM — Drop at the Swinton Avenue curb while the streets are still manageable. Group enters together.
• All day — Bus waits at an agreed spot. Group explores 10 city blocks of artists and vendors.
• 5:00 PM Sunday / 6:00 PM Fri-Sat — Bus returns for pickup at the confirmed time and spot. No shuttle line wait.

Delray Beach Bus Rental Pricing for Old School Square Trips

Party Bus Rental Delray Beach provides all-inclusive pricing in under 30 seconds — you know the exact number before you ever commit. Your quote depends on your vehicle size, total hours, travel date, and pickup point. For trips to Old School Square, most groups are booking 3 to 6 hours for an evening event, or a full-day block for festival weekends.

Current ranges: 14-passenger Sprinter limos run $170–$344/hour; 15–20 passenger party buses run $204–$378/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $244–$414/hour; 35–50 passenger party buses and minibuses run $294–$490/hour; and 40–56 passenger charter buses run $150–$300/hour. Pricing depends on date, mileage, and vehicle type — and the same all-inclusive quote covers the whole block of time, with no surprise add-ons when the bus pulls up.

Here is the per-person math that usually settles the question. A 4-hour minibus rental for a group of 25 people heading from Boca Raton to an Old School Square Pavilion concert — including the drive up, the show, the walk to dinner, and the return — typically runs in the range of $40 to $60 per person all-in. Compare that to $10 per car in garage parking (when available), Uber surge pricing after a concert, and one person in the group who cannot drink because they have to drive everyone home.

Call 728-232-1310 any time for a free, all-inclusive quote with no obligation.

Booking and Timing: When to Lock In

For most Old School Square trips — a Crest Theatre performance, a Free Sunset Concert, or a Saturday GreenMarket visit — two to three weeks of advance booking is workable outside of peak periods. But three events on the calendar require earlier planning, and the consequences of waiting show up in pricing and availability.

• Delray Affair (April 10–12, 2026): Book by February. This is Palm Beach County's largest outdoor arts festival and it draws group bookings from Boca Raton to Miami. Right-size vehicles for a festival-day rental are committed months ahead, and booking in March for an April festival weekend typically means premium pricing or no availability in the right size.
• Garlic Fest (February 28 – March 1, 2026): Book in December or January. The Garlic Fest draws 20,000-plus attendees across its two days, and Saturday night with a national headliner at the Pavilion is the busiest time of the festival weekend. A group of 30 that waits until February will likely pay 20 to 30 percent more or settle for a smaller vehicle than they need.
• Free Sunset Concerts (June 26, July 24, August 28, 2026): Two to three weeks is usually fine — these are free events, so group compositions tend to be more flexible. That said, summer in South Florida is wedding shuttle season, and minibus availability in Palm Beach County fills faster from May through August than most people expect. Book a month out just in case.

For any other Old School Square trip, the earlier you call, the better your options and the more flexibility you have on vehicle type. Give us a call at 728-232-1310 to check availability for your date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does a bus drop off at Old School Square in Delray Beach?

Curbside on N Swinton Avenue directly in front of the campus entrance, or on NE 1st Street along the north side of the property. Both drop points put your group steps from the Pavilion gates or the Cornell Art Museum entrance. On event days with crowd management at the curb, we confirm how we handle the drop for your specific date when you book.

Is there charter bus parking at the Old School Square Parking Garage?

The Old School Square Parking Garage at 95 NE 1st Ave is a standard city garage built for passenger vehicles, not oversized vehicles. A charter bus or full-size minibus typically waits at a spot nearby rather than inside the garage structure. On Sundays, all City of Delray Beach public garages are free; weekday evenings and Saturdays run $1.50/hour via ParkMobile.

We work out where the bus waits when you book so there is no figuring it out at the curb.

How much does a bus rental to Old School Square cost?

Pricing depends on vehicle size, total hours, and pickup location. Current ranges: 14-passenger Sprinter limos run $170–$344/hour; 15–20 passenger party buses run $204–$378/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $244–$414/hour; 35–50 passenger buses and minibuses run $294–$490/hour; 40–56 passenger charter buses run $150–$300/hour. For an all-inclusive quote in under 30 seconds, call 728-232-1310 with your date, headcount, and pickup location.

Does Atlantic Avenue close during the Delray Affair?

Yes. Atlantic Avenue closes to vehicle traffic for the Delray Affair, which runs 10 city blocks. All downtown parking garages fill by late morning on both event days.

The official free shuttle runs from 345 S. Congress Avenue, but allows up to 30 minutes each way. A group bus drops at the Swinton Avenue curb before the closures take effect and picks up at a pre-agreed time — no shuttle wait and no scattered departure timing. The 2026 Delray Affair runs April 10–12.

When are the Free Sunset Concerts at Old School Square in 2026?

The 4th Friday of each summer month: June 26, July 24, and August 28, 2026. Gates open at 5:00 PM. General admission is always free.

VIP tickets ($50) include premium seating and a complimentary drink. Check the Old School Square events page for the current lineup — bands are announced a few weeks before each date.

What is the Garlic Fest at Old School Square?

The South Florida Garlic Fest is a two-day culinary and music festival held on the Old School Square campus, drawing 20,000-plus attendees with garlic-infused food vendors and national headliner concerts at the Pavilion. The 27th annual edition ran February 28 – March 1, 2026, with general admission at $15 (children under 10 free). Parking in the entire Old School Square neighborhood fills by late morning on both event days.

How far is Old School Square from Boca Raton and West Palm Beach?

Old School Square is approximately 8 miles from central Boca Raton (12 to 18 minutes off-peak via I-95 Exit 52) and about 20 miles from downtown West Palm Beach (25 to 35 minutes via I-95 south). Both are easy origins for a single coordinated bus pickup — your group consolidates at one point and arrives at the Swinton Avenue curb together, rather than managing separate parking searches across multiple vehicles.

Can we do a multi-stop itinerary with Old School Square and Atlantic Avenue restaurants?

Yes, and that is one of the most common requests we get for this area. A typical evening itinerary runs: bus drops at the Cornell Art Museum or the Pavilion, group explores the campus, dinner on Atlantic Avenue (dozens of options within two blocks), then either a late Crest Theatre show or a bar stop before the bus returns. You give us the stop list and the timing, and we handle the routing.

The whole downtown corridor between Old School Square and the beach is walkable, so one drop-off at Swinton covers most of it.

Is the Cornell Art Museum worth a group visit?

The Cornell Art Museum is one of the few free art museums in Palm Beach County — admission is free, donations appreciated — and it occupies the fully restored 1913 Delray Elementary building, which is itself worth seeing. Exhibitions rotate and cover American art, cultural history, and contemporary South Florida artists. School groups, corporate teams, and family reunions all use it as a morning anchor before an afternoon Pavilion event or Atlantic Avenue lunch.

Budget 60 to 90 minutes for a thorough walk-through.

Book Your Old School Square Bus Today

Whether it is a Free Sunset Concert on the 4th Friday of the month, a Crest Theatre show your group has had on the calendar since January, or a full Delray Affair festival day — a Delray Beach charter bus rental takes the one part of the trip that nobody wants to manage and handles it completely. Party Bus Rental Delray Beach has access to a fleet of Sprinter limos, party buses, minibuses, and full-size charter buses across South Florida, all bookable with an all-inclusive price in under 30 seconds. Give us a call any time at 728-232-1310 and we will confirm availability for your date, match you with the right vehicle, and coordinate the drop at Old School Square so your group walks in together.

Sources & Last Verified

Event dates, parking rates, and venue details at Old School Square and downtown Delray Beach change by season. Facts in this guide were verified in June 2026; confirm current event-specific details against the official sources below before your visit.

• Old School Square — Events Calendar (Pavilion concerts, Sunset Concert Series, Garlic Fest, Crest Theatre schedule)
• Old School Square — History (campus buildings, Cornell Art Museum, Crest Theatre timeline)
• Delray Affair — Parking & Transportation Map (road closures, free shuttle from 345 S. Congress Ave, garage locations)
• City of Delray Beach — Parking Information (garage rates, ParkMobile app, Sunday free parking)
• Downtown Delray Beach — Old School Square (campus overview, events, nearby garages)
• Old School Square — Tickets (current Pavilion and Crest Theatre ticketed events)