DOCUMENTARY FILM TO TAKE PLACE OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION IN 2021
A traditional Texas Independence Day celebration will not take place at Washington on the Brazos in 2021, but officials at the historic site still plan to commemorate the birth of Texas.
At Tuesday’s Washington County Commissioners meeting, Washington on the Brazos Historical Foundation President Cindi Smith announced that due to COVID-19, a normal celebration featuring historical demonstrations and musical performances will not be held.
In its place, preparations are underway to create a short documentary film currently titled “Here, a Nation was Born,” telling the story of what occurred at Washington on the Brazos during Texas’ fight for independence in 1836.
Washington on the Brazos Site Manager Jonathan Failor said he hopes to obtain quotes from students across the state on what it means to be a Texan and incorporate those quotes into the film. Once the film is released, he also wishes to distribute it to schools for use in Texas history classes.
Failor said while it was a difficult decision to not hold a traditional observation of Texas independence, event organizers did not feel they could responsibly handle large crowds under current restrictions.
The film will be approximately 30 minutes in length, and will be produced by Gary Foreman of Native Sun Productions. Filming is set to begin in late January or early February, and is expected to take about a week to complete.
Upon the film’s premiere on March 2, 2021, the film will be broadcast on Facebook Live and uploaded to YouTube.
Update @ 8:15 a.m. Friday: At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners approved a budget amendment to the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) fund for the 2019-20 Fiscal Year. This budget amendment allocates $55,647 to the City of Brenham, $20,000 of which will be awarded to Washington on the Brazos for the 2021 Independence Day Celebration campaign. Meanwhile, $35,647 will be awarded for a Washington County Tourism Recovery Campaign, as previously approved by the HOT Board. No additional HOT funds need to be disbursed by the county, as the $55,647 is already in the city’s restricted cash balance.
The $20,000, according to Smith, will be used for the creation of the movie, which she said will act as a "digital advertising tool to draw people to the historic site and Washington County." She said since this movie will be shown on YouTube and other social media outlets, its distribution will reach beyond the normal range of the site's usual advertising market. She said the site is hoping for an audience of at least 130,000 viewers.