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Nowadays, Florida's "Village by the Sea" certainly lives up to its quaint nickname.
Just a few minutes from the beach, Atlantic Avenue has become a makeshift main street, with unique restaurants, mom-and-pop shops, nearly 20 galleries, and a full slate of annual festivals, including spring's Savor the Avenue, when 1,000 guests gather to eat at a blocks-long table stretching down the middle of the road. The trendy Palm Beach County town was named for a Detroit suburb, but it might come as a shock that this place once shared a reputation with its troubled namesake.
Before a major revitalization campaign in the 1980s, city planners called Delray Beach a "3-D city": dark, dirty, and dangerous. But a series of well-planned urban renewal schemes — scaling back Atlantic Avenue to attract pedestrians, widening sidewalks to accommodate outdoor cafe seating, giving out grants to reuse historic buildings like old schools and unused gas stations — has really paid off. Delray Beach was recently named the state's best run town by Florida Trend magazine and America's most fun small town by Rand McNally and USA Today. But despite the accolades and attractions like Japanese botanical gardens and a diveable offshore shipwreck, the city still feels under-the-radar. And what happens when the crowds find out about this local gem's sparkling reputation and start arriving in droves? We're sure those savvy city planners will have it covered!
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In Delray Beach, even "street food" feels luxurious. Each spring, the city's main drag, Atlantic Avenue, shuts down to host the Savor the Avenue fundraiser. Florida's longest dining table is set up, stretching for nearly one-quarter of a mile straight down the middle of the road. Over 1,000 diners attend and choose a special prix fixe dinner from 20 area restaurants.
Just 150 yards south of the public beach lie the remains of the British ship S.S. Inchulva, which sank offshore during a 1903 hurricane. And at only 25 feet underwater, it's a remarkably easy place to explore for snorkelers and divers alike, especially during the summer months, when the waters of the Atlantic are at their calmest.
At the turn of the 20th century, a group of intrepid Japanese farmers moved to these parts to found the Yamato Colony. Though the agricultural community ultimately failed and the other farmers moved away, pineapple farmer George Morikami decided to stay. He eventually donated his 200 acres to create the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, an exhibition of art and history with six unique gardens. Each October brings the Lantern Festival in the Spirit of Obon, a Japanese celebration for honoring and thanking ancestors. The festivities include folk dancing, taiko drumming, ghost stories, and a sea of lanterns on the garden's pond, meant to guide the ancestral souls back home after their visit to the festival.
Organizers like to jokingly call the annual Delray Beach Garlic Fest "The Best Stinkin' Party in Town". But the culinary innovation at this three-day annual festival is no laughing matter. From the cooking competition to the concession stands along Gourmet Alley, you'll find garlic-based dishes like garlic mahi tacos, garlic fries, garlic ice cream, and even chocolate-covered frozen bananas sprinkled with garlic plantains.