San Jacinto Day
Festival and Battle Reenactment on April 26
Presented
by H-E-B
Battle reenactment the largest in the state
Houston, TX — Hundreds of history reenactors—complete
with cannons, horses, dogs, women, children and pyrotechnics—will recreate the
events leading up to Texas winning its independence 178 years ago at the
decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. The largest battle reenactment in the state,
it is the centerpiece of the admission-free SanJacinto Day Festival, held on Saturday, April 26, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. on the grounds surrounding the San Jacinto Monument.
The most popular event of the day, the battle
reenactment begins at 3 p.m. and is presented by hundreds of members of the San
Jacinto Volunteers and other living history organizations from across the state. The reenactment dramatizes the decisive
battle where General Sam Houston led his Texian soldiers to victory over the
Mexican Army, including the cannon duel and the final battle between the two
forces.
“We are so proud to continue to present this festival
with free admission and free parking to the public, and it would not be
possible without our presenting sponsor H-E-B, as
well as The Dow Chemical Company, Vopak, Pasadena Strawberry Festival,
CenterPoint Energy and LyondellBasell,”
says Larry Spasic, San Jacinto Museum of History President. “Just as
important are our partners who help us coordinate this event, including TPWD,
the volunteers from San Jacinto College and Deer Park ISD, Clean Harbors, KHOU,
La Porte EMS and Hampton Inn Deer Park.”
All festival activities are updated continually on the
San Jacinto Museum of History website at www.sanjacinto-museum.org. Entertaining
and educational activities scheduled include:
- Dan Barth will use his Medicine Show Wagon to tell the
tales of special 19th century cure-all elixirs, and entertain
with a little magic.
- Nonstop entertainment on the main stage with Galveston’s Brandon McDermott playing his brand of lively Texas/Red Dirt Music; Last Chance Forever, The
Birds of Prey Conservancy and its magnificent birds including hawks,
owls, eagles, falcons and vultures; Mariachis Los Galleros who
first appeared in 2012 and were a big crowd pleaser; and K.R. Wood.
- Abigail Taylor, musician/singer/songwriter from
Houston, will showcase her country music on the children’s stage.
- Phydeaux’s Flying Flea Circus and
Wahoo Medicine Show will
captivate the audience offering
cures for all maladies at his Wahoo Medicine Show, and as Flea Meister for
Phydeaux’s Flying Flea Circus, putting his (invisible) fleas through their
paces.
- K.R. Wood (Camp Cookie) will
bring history to life through songs and tales with Chuck Wagon of Texas
History, complete with Dutch oven demonstrations, samples, roping steer
head demonstrations, stick horse relay races, and historical stories about
the Texas Revolutions and the cattle drives. K.R. was nominated for Texas Musician of the
Year in 2009 with the Texas Commission for the Arts; is a member of the
American Chuck Wagon Association; has been recognized by the 75th
Texas Legislature in 1997 for keeping Texas History alive with his first
Fathers of Texas CD; is an adopted member of the Davy Crockett family and
the Texas Alabama Settlement Group; and his Fathers of Texas album
was approved by the State of Texas as Texas history curriculum through
Harcourt Publishing.
- Texas Snakes – a fun and hands-on educational
show for all ages of many different
species of non-venomous indigenous snakes of Texas for the children to
view and touch. Emphasis is
teaching about the environment and how snakes/reptiles provide their part
for the balance of nature.
- Blacksmiths,
weavers, spinners and other demonstrators will give visitors a full sense of how life was
in the early 1800s. Sutlers (civilians who sold provisions to
military posts) will be on hand to sell or show their wares.
-
- Visitors
can wander freely among the Mexican and Texian camps of the reenactors to
learn what the soldiers of that day were doing prior to the battle in
1836. In the military camps, a few
lucky children will be chosen to stand with the cannon crew and pretend to
load the cannons; they will be presented with cannon soot to wear on their
noses as a badge of honor.
- Texas
Parks & Wildlife Department
will offer archery classes for young people
- Visitors
can also visit the restored marshlands and look for otters, great blue
herons, osprey, mottled ducks and American avocets. The marsh is
historically important because it barred the escape of many of General
Santa Anna's troops during the 1836 battle.
- Members
of the San Jacinto Descendants, Daughters of the Republic of
Texas and the Sons of the Republic of Texas, as well as representatives
from the Texas General Land Office and
the Texas Independence Trail Region,
will be on hand to share their history.
- Texas
Independence Square Dancers—square
dancers from various groups throughout Texas—will demonstrate square
dancing and give lessons.
- Visitors
can browse through the vendor area to admire unique hand-crafted items,
Texas products and history-related items.
- Music
from the North Harris County Dulcimer Society
will entertain folks as they walk along the reflection pool.
The
Children's Area—sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company and Deer Park ISD—includes:
- A 55'
train complete with train whistle and Texan and American flags.
- Make-and-take
history activities and crafts created
by Gifted/Talented specialists from Deer Park ISD; overseen by volunteer
teachers from DPISD and student volunteers from San Jacinto College.
- Marsha's
Petting Zoo with sheep, goats
and other friendly small animals.
- Sandbox Dig created by the
San Jacinto College.
Festival goers can also enjoy
the attractions that are open year-round in the San
Jacinto Monument or on the grounds of the 1,200-acre San Jacinto
Battleground State Historic Site, including:
- the
free lobby exhibit in the Monument now featuring artifacts from The Carabajal Collection: A Glimpse of
Goliad –
an exhibit that features 400+ archeological
artifacts dug up by several generations of the Carabajal family.
“Painstakingly taken from the ground owned by a family for 11 generations,
it contains artifacts from a range of native cultures, colonial-era finds,
Texas Republic relics and countless items from the early years of Texas’s
statehood,” says Elizabeth Appleby, Curator, San Jacinto Museum of
History. “Derived from land situated next to Presidio la Bahia in Goliad
and with the Camino Real literally running through the property, their
collection presents a wealth of historical treasures that is truly amazing
to behold.”
- the
famous 489-foot elevator ride to the top of the Monument; the digital
presentation Texas Forever!! The Battle of San Jacinto; and the
museum’s exhibit Making a Mark,
Leaving a Legacy which looks at the tools that have traditionally been
used to make a mark, the people that have left a mark on our region, and
the symbols that our predecessors used to convey important ideas and
concepts. Combo tickets for the
elevator ride, the exhibit and movie can be purchased for $12 for adults,
$10.50 for seniors, and $8 for children.
- Battleship TEXAS, the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S.; fees for the
Battleship TEXAS are $12 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for school and
youth groups with a reservation, and free for children 12 and
younger.
Sponsors for San Jacinto Day Festival include H-E-B, The Dow Chemical Company, Vopak, Pasadena Strawberry
Festival, CenterPoint Energy, KHOU, LyondellBasell,
San Jacinto Museum of History Association, Texas Parks & Wildlife
Department, San Jacinto College, Deer Park ISD, Hampton Inn & Suites Deer
Park, San Jacinto Volunteers, Clean Harbors, Brand Extract, Office Systems of
Texas and La Porte EMS.
“For the Texans, their
victory at San Jacinto led to Texas’ annexation into the United States,” says
Robert B. Hixon, Chairman of the Board, San Jacinto Museum. “In the end, the United States would gain not
only Texas but also New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah and parts of Oklahoma,
Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming. Most
Texans, and dare I say most Houstonians, don’t realize that the Battle of San
Jacinto is recognized as one of the top ten battles of the world to change
history.”
The San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site is
located just 22 miles east of downtown Houston. Take Highway 225 east to
Independence Parkway north and continue for three miles.
Tips to further enjoy the 2014 festival:
·
Do not take the
ferry on I-10; because there is only one ferry working right now, the wait is
long.
·
Visitors are
encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets for comfortable viewing of the battle
reenactment.
Visitors should park at the first parking lot they
come to and take the shuttle to the festival grounds; buses will stop at the
farthest parking lots first, so those visitors will be first to board.
DISCOUNTED LODGING: Discounted room rates
of $109 per night are available during the festival for the nights of April 25
and/or 26, at HamptonInn Deer Park. For reservations, call 281.930.9091 and mention San
Jacinto Day. Breakfast buffet and internet included.
For more information about the San Jacinto Museum of History or
the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment, please call 281.479.2421
or visit www.sanjacinto-museum.org. For
more information on the Battleship TEXAS, please contact the Texas Parks &
Wildlife Department at 281.479.2431.
