Rockport · Fulton · Lamar Peninsula
Events & Festivals 2026
Birding celebrations, community festivals, and everything that makes Rockport worth the trip — from hummingbird season to the family that's put on fireworks every year since 1965.
Birding Events
HummerBird Celebration
September 17–20, 2026
Four days · Rockport, Texas · Multiple venues
The event that put Rockport on the national birding map. Every September, virtually every Ruby-throated Hummingbird east of the Mississippi funnels through this stretch of coast. Local feeders host hundreds of birds simultaneously. Banding demonstrations, guided walks, garden tours, and photography workshops across four days.
Most events free · Some workshops require registration
Whooping Crane Season
November 2026 – March 2027
Five months when Rockport is the only place on Earth to reliably see wild Whooping Cranes. The entire Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock — 560+ birds — winters in Aransas Bay. Shallow-draft boat tours get you within 30 feet of the world's rarest migratory birds. Or walk Lamar Beach Road at low tide — free, no reservation needed.
- ›560+ whooping cranes winter in Aransas Bay — the entire wild flock
- ›Best viewing: January and February (highest concentrations)
- ›Shallow-draft boat tours — typically within 30 feet of cranes
Aransas Bird Days
April 2026 (dates announced annually)
Rockport's spring migration celebration. Guided walks, bird banding demonstrations, and field trips through the area's best spring hotspots — painted buntings, warblers, tanagers, and the first ruby-throated hummingbirds returning north.
- ›Guided field trips at Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary
- ›Bird banding demonstrations — migrants up close
- ›Painted Buntings in peak breeding plumage
Christmas Bird Counts
Mid-December 2026 (announced each fall)
The longest-running citizen science event in North America — a single-day census of every bird in a 15-mile circle. The Texas coast CBCs regularly produce 200+ species. Open to all skill levels, from backyard feeders to marsh boats.
- ›Three circles: Rockport, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi
- ›200+ species common in a single December day
- ›Open to all skill levels — no experience required
Rockport-Fulton Community Events
Local festivals, fundraisers, and community traditions — the calendar that keeps Rockport running year-round. Most are volunteer-run; many are free. These are not tourism imports. They belong here.
Lamar DiGras
FebruaryFeb 13–14, 2026
Lamar Volunteer Fire Department · 302 Bois D'Arc Road, Lamar TX
Mardi Gras-themed fundraiser for the all-volunteer Lamar Fire Department. Parade, live music, beer garden, casino games, and auctions on the Lamar Peninsula — 9 miles north of Rockport. Friday 5–11 PM · Saturday 10 AM–11 PM.
Lamar Peninsula is prime whooping crane country. A morning walk on Lamar Beach Road before the evening festival is the kind of thing only a Rockport visitor can do.
Fulton OysterFest
MarchMarch 2026 (dates TBA)
Paws & Taws · 402 N. Fulton Beach Rd, Fulton TX
Four-day festival benefiting the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department. Live music all four days, carnival rides, arts & crafts, Raw Oyster Eating Contest, and a Saturday morning parade on Fulton Beach Road. Cash only at food vendors.
Aransas Bay oyster season peaks in winter and early spring — the timing is not accidental. Dale Watson on a Saturday night in Fulton is exactly the kind of thing you can't find anywhere else.
Rockport Art Festival
July 4th WeekendJuly 4–5, 2026
Rockport Harbor area
Founded in 1969 — now in its 57th year. Juried artists, original work in all media, held at the Rockport Harbor over the July 4th weekend. One of the oldest continuous art events on the Texas coast.
Running since before most of the town's current businesses existed. Free, family-friendly, and genuinely local.
Wendell Family Fireworks
July 4thJuly 4, 2026 · 61st Annual
Rockport waterfront / Aransas Bay
61st consecutive year. A single family has put on this fireworks show over Aransas Bay every year since 1965 — not a county event, not a chamber production. A family tradition that the whole town shows up for.
A family has done this for 61 straight years. That is Rockport in one sentence.
SeaFair
OctoberOctober 2026 · Dates TBA
Rockport Harbor / waterfront
Rockport's major fall festival — seafood, live music, carnival rides, arts & crafts, and family activities. October's ideal post-hurricane-season weather makes this one of the best weeks to visit. Check the Chamber calendar for confirmed dates.
October is the power month for Rockport: SeaFair, ArtFest, perfect weather, and whooping cranes arriving for the winter.
Rockport-Fulton ArtFest
OctoberColumbus Day Weekend, October 2026
Downtown Rockport / Harbor area
200+ juried artists from across Texas and the country — paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, mixed media. The premier juried art festival on the Texas coast. Separate from and larger than the July 4th Art Festival.
Different event from the July Art Festival — this is the bigger, multi-day juried show with artists from across the country.
Recurring Events — Every Month
Fourth Fridays
Every month · 4th Friday · 3–7 PM
Downtown Rockport cultural arts district
Farmers Market
Every month · 2nd Saturday · 9 AM–1 PM
Downtown Rockport
Dog'Gone Songwriter Series
Regularly scheduled · check local listings
Various Rockport venues
Market Days
Monthly · check Chamber calendar
Aransas County Fairgrounds
Check the Rockport-Fulton Chamber calendar for exact dates on recurring events.
Planning a trip around an event?
HummerBird Celebration weekends book fast. If you're coming in September — or for whooping crane season — start with our trip planning guide.