By Lou Zykla
The 830 Times
People were able to step back in time at Brackettville’s historic Fort Clark Days this past weekend.
Fort Clark Days is a history festival in Brackettville, Texas, held during the first weekend of March. Locals and out-of-town visitors attend the two-day festival and learn about the history of Brackettville and Southwest Texas. People can also enjoy other attractions including food vendors and live performances.
Fort Clark is known for being a military base established in 1852. The location was used for people to seek protection and refuge when traveling across the country. At Fort Clark Days, people can meet living historians that teach the history of Fort Clark and the lifestyles of people from the early 19th century.
Frances Bitter and Christina Bitter are the chairpersons for the FCD 2023 Committee. They said the festival has been going on for over 40 years, and they started planning out the events and contacting guests since October. Christina Bitter said the festival brings awareness to
Brackettville’s historic monuments and various cultural traditions.
“Everything about the festival brings life into the community as well as education and fun,” Christina Bitter said.
Allison Watkinson, Living Historian coordinator, said she’s been in charge of maintaining contact with the living historians, both returning and brand-new ones. She said the historians enjoy the festival and seeing the historic monuments of Brackettville.
One of the most popular attractions from the festival is the camel presentation. Doug Baum, living historian from Waco, Texas, brought the camels from his ranch and taught visitors how the animals were used for transportation by the government. The festival also introduced storytelling and crown dancers presented by the Lipan Apache Indians.
Christina Bitter said the festival is made up of volunteers and over a 100 showed up on Saturday. Volunteers from the city and out of town showed up to be a part of the festivities.
Kerr Wardlaw, manager of Val Verde Wool and Mohair and a longtime Del Rio resident, said he travels to volunteer at Fort Clark Days every year. Wardlaw was part of the cannon fire demonstrations, which teaches people the procedures of how these old artillery weapons were used.
“The festival is important because people can interact with historians and learn about the different wars,” Wardlaw said.
Christina Bitter said the money made from the festival is used towards education and preservation of the town’s historic buildings. Fort Clark Days ended with a screening of the 1960 movie “The Alamo” at the fort’s historic theater. The movie was made just down the road in Brackettville’s Alamo Village. The screening also included a Q&A with special guest Thomas Worrell, the only living actor from the movie.
