The idea for Seafair was the brainchild of a Rockport man, Bill Christian in 1974. He believed the area needed a celebration in the fall to fill the lull between the summer visitors and the arrival of winter tourists.

Though the event has grown since the first event, it remains very much the same as Christian envisioned it. Art, a parade, arts and crafts, entertainment, water skiing demonstrations and a gumbo cookoff were part of the very first Seafair. They remain today as major attractions.

They formed their on Board of Directors, became a non-profit organization, and ran up until the year 2000. In April of 2000, Pam Farley, President of Seafair at the time came to a Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting and requested that the Chamber take it over. After much discussion, the Chamber Board voted to take on the event. That year, during the Seafair the community experienced the coldest of cold fronts for that time period and four solid days of rain.