San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment

The largest battle reenactment in the state is the centerpiece of the admission-free San Jacinto Day Festival, to be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds surrounding the San Jacinto Monument. The reenactment recreates the events leading up to Texas winning its independence from Mexico 181 years ago at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Sponsored by the San Jacinto Museum of History Association, the festival is a full day of entertainment, vendors, food, family activities, cultural exhibitors, games and fun set amidst living history: music and dancing on three stages featuring country-western bands, flamenco dancers, Native American presentations, square dancers and much more; 15+ food vendors; make-and-take activities and crafts for children; children’s train; petting zoo; medicine wagon show; birds of prey; weavers, spinners, blacksmiths and other demonstrators; and dozens of unique hand-crafted items for sale. On Saturday, reenactors from across the state become figures in Texas history, for the day. Visitors can wander freely among the Mexican and Texian camps to learn what the soldiers and their families were doing prior to the battle in 1836. At 3 p.m., the official (and historically accurate!) reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto begins. With hundreds of history reenactors, this reenactment—complete with cannons, horses and pyrotechnics—is the largest in southwest United States.