Rockport Area Happenings

Started in 1975 by local resident Bill Christian, the Rockport-Fulton Seafair was created to bridge the gap during the fall months between the departure of the summer tourists and the influx of visitors and “Winter Texans” that flock to the Live Oak Peninsula to escape the cold climes of the northern states and Canada. The 2016 Rockport-Fulton Seafair takes place at the Rockport harbor festival grounds from October 6th all the way through to October 9th and promises to be another outstanding and exciting event.

This “celebration of the sea” provides an abundance of food, activities and entertainment for the entire family over the course of 4 action packed days and is sure to become a yearly family tradition, if it hasn’t already. Attracting over 20,000 visitors annually, Seafair is an excellent outing for a weekend full of fun and festivities for the whole family.

Seafair Food and Vendors

You can’t have a Seafair celebrating the waters that surround the Live Oak Peninsula without showcasing some of the best seafood dishes in the world. Aside from a variety of food and beverage vendors where you can eat to your heart’s content, the Rockport-Fulton Seafair features one of the best seafood gumbo and CASI chili cook-offs in the country! Contestants that have registered for the challenge have Saturday morning to prepare their (hopefully) award winning recipes ahead of afternoon judging to vie for bragging rights as the best gumbo or chili of the festival. Gumbo can be sampled for $2 per cup and the chili is free! It doesn’t get much better than that! While you’re walking around with your cup of gumbo or chili, be sure to check out the arts and crafts and market vendors showcasing their wares.

Music and Entertainment at Seafair

It wouldn’t be a proper celebration without some live music and entertainment under the big tent. This year, Seafair has some incredible professional artists and local amateurs performing throughout the weekend. Think you’ve got the chops? Then sign up for Karaoke competition on Thursday at 5pm at the Big Tent then stick around for the much anticipated Battle of the Bands starting at 7pm. Performances continue throughout the weekend including this year’s featured act, Pam Tillis Acoustic Trio taking the stage in the Big Tent on Friday at 9pm. To find out what other entertainment is scheduled and when, including The Voice competitor Mary Sarah, check out the schedule of events and list of this year’s performers on the official Rockport-Fulton Seafair website.

Activities and Events

As if an abundance of food and music wasn’t enough to keep you going through the weekend, the 2016 Rockport-Fulton Seafair has plenty of action packed activities and events to participate in or watch from the sidelines. It all starts with the annual Seafair Land Parade along Magnolia Street in Downtown Rockport and continues on from there with even more activities and attractions including a children’s activity tent, arts and crafts tents, a stand up paddle board (SUP) race in Little Bay and the annual cardboard boat race in the bay that sees would be winners captain their cardboard creations in a race to be first before sinking. Also worthwhile checking out is the hilarious and unusual crab race where competitors choose their quickest crustacean to crawl to the finish on a wooden track by Little Bay. Along with all of the exciting activities, Seafair hosts a boat show and car show throughout the weekend allowing visitors to view some of the best water and land vehicles on the Gulf Coast, some for sale and some just for show!

As always, the annual Rockport-Fulton Seafair promises to be a fantastic weekend with incredible events and activities. We always enjoy heading down with our families and taking part in the festivities, food and fun! We all have fond memories of past Seafair festivities and plan to make even more this year! What are your favorite memories and are you planning on heading down this year? Let us know in the comments below!