San Jacinto Day Festival

OK, Texas history buffs, today's your day: San Jacinto Day is being celebrated at the San Jacinto Battleground, complete with battle re-enactments, a mini-zoo and an archaeological dig. Some of the highlights:

• At 3 p.m., costumed re-enactors will replicate the historic Battle of San Jacinto (and, we hear, other battles from the Texas Revolution), with period weapons and pyrotechnics. (We hope the re-enactment condenses the day-long search for Santa Anna.)

• Sulters, civilians who sold provisions to the military, will be on hand (recreated sulters, we assume) to show off their goods and demonstrate how stuff was made in the 1800s.

• See native Texas animals at the Houston Zoomobile and take guided tours of the battleground's marshlands from Texas Parks & Wildlife experts.

• Look for arttifacts at a dig site hosted by the Houston & Texas Archaeological Society. You could find a button, a musket ball or Sam Houston's shot glass! But we bet you wouldn't be able to take it home.

• And what would any 19th century-themed festival be without square dancers? There will be square-dancing groups from across Texas do-si-doing and boxing the flea and other things we've forgotten since elementary school.

The San Jacinto Day Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the battleground, which is located on Battleground Road off Highway 225 near Deer Park. For a full description of events, check the San Jacinto Museum's website.