Courtesy of Washington on the Brazos
Texas Independence Day Celebration – presented by H-E-B – is an annual, two-day living history celebration on Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, on the 293-acre Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site to commemorate when 59 delegates bravely met in 1836 to make a formal declaration of independence from Mexico. After all, there is no better place to celebrate Texas independence than on the very spot “Where Texas Became Texas.”
The free event features live music, food, traditional crafts, musket and cannon firings, Texas A&M University Singing Cadets, the Kids History Zone, “The Birth of a Republic” historical play about the signers of the declaration, Brenham Children’s Chorus, and other commemorative programs. The new museum exhibit titled “So Others Could Follow: Four Centuries of Maps That Define Texas” opens that weekend and illustrates the evolution of Texas over four centuries, both topographically and politically. Historical reenactors set up a bonafide 1836 Texas Army camp where visitors can wander freely to learn how the soldiers and their families lived then.
Admission fees are waived for the site’s attractions (Independence Hall, Star of the Republic Museum, and Barrington Living History Farm) for the weekend celebration. Admission to the grounds, on-site shuttles, and parking are also free. “Texas Independence Day Celebration” is presented by H-E-B and coordinated by the Washington on the Brazos State Park Association. Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site is halfway between Houston and Austin at 23400 Park Road 12, Washington, TX, 77880 — off State Hwy. 105. From Hwy. 105, follow either FM 912 or FM 1155 to Park Road 12. For more information, contact jon.failor@tpwd.texas.gov or (936) 878-2214, or visit www.wheretexasbecametexas.org.
